The idol of Gajalakshmi at a pandal in Bapuji Nagar in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Scores of devotees thronged different pandals across the city on the occasion of Lakshmi Puja, with the one at Bapuji Nagar, one of the oldest in the city, drawing large crowds seeking divine blessings.

More than 50 pandals have been erected across the city to worship the goddess of wealth.

Around 40 attractively decorated pandals have also come up at Dhenkanal town, known across Odisha for celebrating Gajalakshmi Puja with pomp and grandeur. People in industrial towns such as Angul, Rourkela and Kendrapara also celebrated the occasion with religious fervour and fanfare.

Text by Sandeep Dwivedy

Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee