Durga and Sharada idols installed at 912 places across Gadchiroli; over 1,100 police and home guards deployed

Gadchiroli: Navratri, awaited since the end of the Ganesh festival, begins on Sunday, October 11, and public mandals are installing idols of goddesses Durga and Sharada at about 912 places in rural and urban parts of the district, Navbharat reported, citing the police. Preparations are complete across the district's nine police sub-divisions.

More than 1,100 personnel will be on security duty: about 650 officers and men of the district police and 540 home guards. DJ sound systems and laser lights are banned, mandals have been asked to follow the rules, and people have been urged to dial 112 to report any untoward incident.

Pandals have come up across Gadchiroli town, and markets were crowded with devotees buying puja materials. Traders have decorated their shops and expect brisk business during the festival.

Armori's Navratri is famous across Vidarbha and in the neighbouring state, and thousands of devotees visit the town every year. This year too, its public Durga and Sharada mandals have put up elaborate tableaux and the town has been lit up.

Source: Navbharat