The steel city is gripped with the spirit of Durga Puja festivities. The festival marks the triumph of good over evil — battle of Goddess Durga with Mahishasura and her emerging victorious.

With creative pandals adoring, Jamshedpur has turned into a walking art gallery. From the well thought out themes of the pandals to beautifully crafted and painted idols of Goddess and her family, every puja committee has gone out to create the best-possible experience for the awestruck visitors.

“Though due to Covid-19 we are taking every precaution but still we are doing our best to give a traditional feel to the pandals.  When it comes to the celebration the creative talents of artists get a free flow, bringing out an array of interesting pandals by each of the more than 300 puja samitis in the city every year,” said a member of Durga Puja Committee.

"It is common in our city to have a specially-created pandal for the worship of Durga. Every year devotees pour in to catch the glimpse of our pandal. We are ensuring that devotees follow social distancing norms while performing rituals ," said an official of Kadma Durga Puja committee.

The puja pandals are based on various themes. While some are keeping it simple others are honouring Corona warriors.

The South Eastern Railway Durga, Laxmi and Kali Puja Committee at Traffic Colony, Bagbera, is Jamshedpur’s oldest, founded in 1906, a year older than Tata Steel itself. The then stationmaster of Kalimati (renamed Tatanagar later), Dilip Sengupta, started this tradition way back in 1906 . Tata Steel started giving its profit-sharing bonus in 1934 to enable employees to celebrate Durga Puja with fervour. “ We maintained the rich legacy of the puja and devotees look forward to being a part of the celebration,” said a committee member.