Artists concerned commonly known as pauls are passing their busy days in making statues of Hindu goddess ahead of Durga Puja festival in Rajshahi city and nine upazilas of the district, reports BSS from Rajshahi. With only 18 days left for the religious festival of the Hindu community, the Pauls are working round the clock to make sure that the idols are ready in time. The artists hope for earning better this year as the number of puja mandaps to be increased in the region. They will get good return as the price of each idol has increased from Tk 4,000 to Tk 6,000.

Kartik Paul, an idol maker of Alupotti area of the city, who received order for making several idols, said cost of raw materials including earth, rope, straw, bamboo and jute for idols have highly been increased but their remuneration has remained the same for the last several years.

“Now I have very little time to sleep as the idols are to be completed as per work orders,” said Kartik.  “Five to eight workers need 10-15 days for making a large idol while smaller ones need around two weeks each,” he added.  He further informed that about one hundred Paul groups of Rajshahi are now busy making idols for mandops and they have already completed 50 per cent works of making the idols.

Swapon Ghosh, a devotee who supervises a puja mandop in Kumarpara area of the city, informed that preparations for the upcoming Durga Puja have become costlier due to high price of the raw materials as well as increased charges of idol makers, purohits and dhakis. Tapan Kumar Sen, trustee of Hindu Religion Welfare Trust, told BSS that the Durga puja will be celebrated in around 422 puja mondaps in Rajshahi district including 70 in the city from September 26 to 30. Around 550 sculptors are engaged in making idols for Durga Puja in the  region. One of them says he along with his assistant will make 10-12 idols.