Bhubaneswar: The narrow and muddy lanes of Salia Sahi slum here reverberated with songs and dances to the popular numbers of Odia and Hindi films and folk music by the women and girls marking the last day of the three-day Raja festival.
Various rounds of competitions like music chair, quiz, straw-ball game and rangoli were organized among the women and girls of eight habitations in Salia Sahi slum during past two weeks by Society for Nature, Education and Health (SNEH) – an NGO working with the marginalised communities for establishment of peace and harmony.
These events culminated on the grand finale at the Mayfair Nagar Basti. In Rangoli, Straw-ball and mehendi competitions Sunita Parida, Abhilipsa Sen and Pinki Swain were selected, respectively.
Odia cine stars Tatwa Prakash Satpathy aka Papu Pom Pom and Arijit, former BMC Corporator Bharati Singh, Bhubaneswar Morning Club secretary Amulya Kumar Das, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) project officer, Manjula Pattanayak and Dr Biswakalyani Das attended the programme and crowned the three winners as Raja Queens 2019.
