ROURKELA: Police crackdown on illegal scrap business has dampened festive spirit in the localities around the Fertiliser Township. The usual grandeur surrounding the Laxmi Puja celebration here is missing.The area is inhabited by labourers who eke out a living by picking iron and other metal scraps from the slag dumping yards of the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP). Some of them have made a fortune from bulk scraps vending.Sources said Laxmi Puja of late took a massive dimension in Laxmi Market area, Laltanki, Balijodi, Bandabasa, Koitabasa, Tarapur, Brittania Colony, Deogaon, Jalda, Tarkera, Balughat, Rupurtola, Dedembasa, Palpalbasti and Sheetalpada dotting the three dumping yards of RSP.The residents here contribute generously with unscrupulous big-time scrap traders chipping in with huge donations for the puja.A local resident, Jagabandhu Patra admitted the charm surrounding the festival is missing and attributed it to the crackdown and damage due to the recent flash floods in the adjacent pockets along the Brahmani river.Notwithstanding the recession, 23 huge Laxmi Puja pandals have been erected in the Fertiliser Township stealing a march over their 63 counterparts spread across the Civil Township and Steel Township areas of Rourkela city.Central Puja Committee (CPC) general secretary Bijay Nanda Patnaik said the festival gained popularity here after the CPC earmarked Fertiliser Township for bringing in all idols for rating before immersion.
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