(Above) The idol of Goddess Durga at Ashok Nagar Kalibari in Bhubaneswar and an illuminated Badambadi Road in Cuttack. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee and Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 10: The alert issued by the meteorology department about a possible “very severe” cyclonic storm in Odisha during this Dussehra has dampened Puja spirits in the twin cities.

Fearing a super cyclone-like situation that had struck Odisha in 1999 killing over 10,000 people, residents of the twin cities have cancelled their programmes during this four-day holiday. To add to their woes, the state government has instructed all its employees to attend their works during the Puja to provide relief to the cyclone-affected areas.

Even the Puja committees that have splurged lavishly in decoration of pandals and planned to organise cultural programmes are afraid of not being able to hold such events.

“The Puja would not be stopped midway. But, we prefer not to organise the entertainment events and cultural activities,” said Jharapada Puja Committee general secretary Jagannath Pradhan.

As the cyclone, called Phailin, is likely to hit the state on Mahastami night, the organisers fear that they may not be able to organise the ritual of Ravan podi on the Vijaya Dasami night on October 14. “If the storm’s intensity is very hard and it leads to a large-scale devastation, we won’t organise Ravan podi on humanitarian ground,” said a Puja committee member.

Prafulla Sahu of Khan Nagar Puja Committee in Cuttack said they had spent a lot of money in pandal decoration. “The cyclone threat definitely makes us scared. We will take steps according to the situation,” said Sahu.

Similarly, many eatery and restaurant owners feel that the storm alert will tell upon their business, which they had expected to be a brisk one, during the Puja. “We expect low footfall during the Puja,” said a restaurant owner in Cuttack.

“We will stay in the city. But, I don’t think the cyclone will leave anything normal. The pandals are likely to be affected the most. My pandal hopping is definitely going to be hampered,” said Rojalin Mohapatra, a banker at Baramunda.

“I had planned to go to Puttaparti with my family in this Puja. But with the cyclone threat looming large, I preferred to cancel the trip,” said S.N. Satpathy, a private company employee.

Moreover, all the four Odia films — Tu Mo Dehara Chaai, Akhire Akhire, Mu Raja Tu Rani and Kehi Jane Bhala Lagere — that were lined up for Friday release have been postponed. The tentative date has been kept October 13, but again, that depends upon the devastation caused by the cyclone.

“It was an unanimous decision taken by all the production houses to wait and watch the consequence of the cyclone. We will take the final call on Mahastami night. The purpose of releasing the film on a festive season is to make profits, but that object would fall flat if there are no viewers,” said Akhire Akhire director Sushant Mani.