NT BUZZ gets a peek into the Sarvajanik Ganesh celebrations at a few police stations across Goa
KALYANI JHA | NT BUZZ
With Chavath celebrations taking over the state, the men in uniform make sure the celebration goes off peacefully for everyone. And to ensure that the staff do not miss out on the festive spirit, police stations across the state have Sarvajanik Ganesh Puja in their premises
PANAJI
At the Panaji police station, the Ganesh idol is kept for nine days and all are welcome to visit.
“At times, when there was no transport available, police staff could not go to their native place for celebration and come back on time. Many either didn’t get leaves or leaves were cancelled. So the tradition of keeping a Sarvajanik Ganesh at the police station was started for all to enjoy the festivity while being on duty,” says Panaji sub divisional police officer Sudesh Naik, adding that during this period, patrolling is increased and the station hence requires extra staff at this time
For the last four years, they have been organising ‘mahaprasad’ for people coming for Ganesh ‘darshan’ on the eighth day after the Satyanarayan Puja. There are also rangoli and drawing competitions organised for school children.
A ‘pujari’ comes for the morning and evening ‘puja’ and whichever police stadd is free each day does the ‘puja’. A caterer looks after the food and ‘mahaprasad’. “While on other days, the food is meant only for the staff present at the station, on ‘mahaprasad’ day when the footfall goes to over 1000, the food quantity is increased accordingly.
“We want to get this message across to people, to not leave too many valuables locked at home when they leave for their native village during Chaturthi. It increases the risk of burglary and nobody wants unwanted happenings during such an auspicious occasion,” says Naik.
Porvorim
The Porvorim police station has been bringing the Ganesh idol to the premises since 2002 and it is kept for a period of nine days. Preparation for the same begins two days in advance. “The same protocol is followed every year. We put a pandal, and the cleaning and decoration is done by the police themselves who also contribute the required funds,” says station in -charge Rahul Parab.
“The responsibility of the everyday puja is divided among the various departments,” says Parab, adding that the main puja and celebration at the station starts only the sixth day. “For the first five days, the locals are busy with Ganesh puja at their homes and we need to patrol the area to maintain law and order. So our actual celebration starts from the sixth day and continues till the ninth day ending with ‘visarjan’,” he says.
Several competitions like rangoli making are organised by the station for school children. This year, the station will have a storytelling and fancy dress competition. Bhajan Mandali from the local panchayats are also invited to perform ‘aarti’ and ‘bhajans’.
Food is made by the ‘pujari’ for everyday ‘bhog’ for the staff at the station. On the last day, when everybody visits, a caterer is given charge of the food.
“Some people bring dal or sheera and rice is cooked in the canteen sometimes. Every police department from top to bottom contributes,” says Parab.
For ‘visarjan’, the Ganesh idol is taken around the Porvorim market with much fanfare and is immersed at the Betim ferry point.
MAPUSA
The Mapusa police station keeps the Ganesha idol for 11 days. “The entire staff participates in the preparation and celebration. A meeting is held and a committee is formed to plan the process to be followed for the 11 days of Ganesh puja,” says station in -charge Nikhil Palekar.
Palekar informs that most of the staff from the station hail from Valpoi and cannot visit their home for Chaturthi as they are deployed on duty. “Most people go to their native place and there is an increased risk of burglaries during this period. Thus, intense patrolling needs to be done which requires enough staff,” says Palekar. Thus, keeping Ganesha at the station helps them participate in the celebrations.
The decoration, ‘puja’ preparation and the food is done by the police station staff only. The morning and evening puja each day is also carried out by the police. On the eighth day, Satyanarayan Bhagwan Puja is held and a ‘mahaprasad’ distribution is done for the common public. On the 11th day, the ‘visrajan’ is done before other people begin idol immersion. “ We have to take care of law and order on roads when people take their idols for immersion. So we try to do ours first,”
shares Palekar.
CALANGUTE
According to head constable at the Calangute police station Keshav Naik, the new station building was built in 1989 and it is possible that Ganesh puja has been held there
since then.
The puja is performed following all traditions and rituals for nine days.
“A month prior to Chaturthi, a meeting is held to discuss the previous year’s celebration and to decide on the new plan for this year. Following this, we begin preparations,” says Naik. The cleaning, decoration, and preparation of everyday ‘naivaidya’ is handled by the station staff themselves. This year’s theme for decoration is Vithal.
“For the first five days we don’t have any activity other than the everyday morning and evening ‘puja’, as everybody is busy with their own Chaturthi celebrations at home,” says Naik.
This year, on the seventh day, the station is organising a 15-minute skit competition for children of Bardez Taluka on drug awareness and cybercrime. On the eighth day they have Satyanarayan Puja followed by a ‘mahaprasad’. The station will also stage a play titled ‘Chaava’, on the same day.
Alongside the celebrations, the police ensure that their duty is not neglected. There are three Sarvajanik pandals in the area, two at Candolim and one at Shantadurga for which the station provides armed guards round the clock.
Besides this, two Police Control Room vehicles and one pink van are on regular patrol duty to ensure smooth celebration for all Goans.
MARGAO
Preparations for the Savajanik Ganesh at the Margao police station begin during the Shravan period. The idol is kept for a period of 11 days.
“The Maina-Curtorim and Fatorda stations don’t do their own Sarvajanik Puja but they contribute to this Sarvajanik Ganesh at the Margao police station,” says police inspector Suraj Samant who has been with this station for the past 18 years .
Each day, a different station department is entrusted with the responsibility of doing the puja. The staff from all the departments including the Fatorda Traffic Cell, Margao Traffic Cell and Colva Traffic Cell contribute in whatever way they can,” shared Samant, adding that they ensure that the decorations are all eco-friendly. On the 10th day, they have Satyanarayana puja and ‘mahaprasad’. Competitions and games are also organised for the police staff and family members.
VASCO
The tradition of the Sarvajanik Puja at Vasco police station has been followed for the past 30-40 years. Preparations start eight to nine days prior to the festival and are handled by the police staff, says station in-charge Vaibhav Naik, adding that they form a committee which allocates the responsibilities to be followed during this festive period
of 11 days.
“The staff manage the festive preparations while ensuring that they do not compromise on their duties,” says Naik.
On the ninth day, Satyanarayan Puja is done in front of Ganesh and a ‘mahaprasad’ follows for all. For the ‘visarjan’, the police take out a ‘dindi procession’ with devotional songs. The idol is then immersed at Baina Beach.
