Mayor Krishna Chakraborty organised a Jagannath puja on the tithi of Akshay Tritiya in a corner of CJ Park on April 30. The puja was held on the same day when chief minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated a newly built temple in Digha.

“For those who did not or could not go to Digha to attend the occasion, we are hosting a puja in my ward for the welfare of everyone in Bidhannagar,” said mayor Krishna Chakraborty, adding that she was expecting several of the councillors.

“There used to be a Shiva temple here, made from the time Dilip Gupta was at the helm of Poura Bhavan,” she added, referring to the Left Front leader and former municipality chairman whose house is just across the entrance to the park. The temporary structure has now given way to one with marble slabs where several deities have been installed.

The Jagannath Trinity was placed under a cloth canopy at a corner of the park. “It was a stroke of luck to get such beautiful idols in time for our puja,” she smiled, saying she was prepared to hold the puja before an enlarged digital print of a photograph. I got a tip-off about a flower seller in the local market creating an idol. It had already been booked. We borrowed it from him,” she told The Telegraph Salt Lake.

Included in the offerings were white khaja, which Chakraborty said, was procured from the supply created for the ceremony at Digha at Mamata Banerjee’s behest. One khaja was even tossed in the fire of the yajna held on the occasion. Bhog was distributed among residents and guests.