Remote Bokaro Village Installs WiFi For First Time To Enable Digital Pandal Darshan

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, every day lives may have taken a backseat, but it could not dampen the enthusiasm of people waiting for their favourite festivals.

With just 2,000 residents, Marrah, a remote village in the Jharkhand's Bokaro is the newest one to have 'digital darshan' planned for the auspicious Durga Puja celebrations.

According to reports, the village which has roughly 700 Bengali families, has the credit of holding one of the rarest Durga pujas, almost 300 years old.

The puja organised by the Ghosh family, every year, retains the traditional aspects related to the puja with the idol bearing semblance to Chhau masks.

When the possibility of organising a puja this year seemed uncertain due to the coronavirus outbreak, the family members decided to equip the village with its first WiFi connection to enable digital pandal darshan.

A 300-metre wire was laid for the WiFi to be installed. They bore the cost of the wiring, setting up routers, and remotely assisted people on how to use the service.

Speaking to IndiaToday, daughter-in-law Pritika Datta, said "Once you start doing Durga Puja, it is not possible to skip even for one year. Several villagers look forward to our puja throughout the year. Sometimes they want to offer prayers after their wishes have been fulfilled. We had to come up with an idea to conduct the puja somehow in spite of the situation."

Local cable operator in the village, Majnu said, "I have laid an extra 300-metres of cable wiring and the Ghosh family told me about the initiative. I am looking forward to this as other villagers can also access WiFi now as the initial process is done."

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