The nine-day festival dedicated to Goddess Durga will begin with Ghatasthapana and the installation of idols in homes and public pandals. Kanpur: Devotees will celebrate the first day of Shardiya Navratri on Sunday, with elaborate preparations underway at temples and Durga Puja pandals across the city.
Barricades have been installed at Bara Devi and Tapeshwari Devi temples, where the managements expect more than 10,000 devotees daily. Meanwhile, major Durga temples across the city are making special arrangements to manage the expected rush of devotees. Police have also made security and crowd-management arrangements, while traffic restrictions have been imposed around prominent temples.
The tradition is said to have been introduced by a Bengali family after Krishna Chandra Majumdar arrived from West Bengal and settled in the city in 1783, during the East India Company era. Durga Puja celebrations in Kanpur are believed to date back to the 18th century. The locality where his family lived later came to be known as Bengali Mohal. The Majumdar family is credited with laying the foundation for Bengali-style Durga Puja celebrations in Kanpur.