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Durga Puja carnivals across districts in West Bengal as festive fever continues
In Kolkata, around 100 pujas will showcase their idols and take part in the procession on the Red Road
Durga Puja carnivals will be held across all districts, except Jalpaiguri, in West Bengal on Friday.
This is the first time that such carnivals have been organised across the state.
The puja carnival in Kolkata will also be held on Saturday.
“Earlier the carnival was held only in Kolkata. It started in 2016. The carnival could not be held in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. It would be held in the city after a gap of two years. But this year chief minister Mamata Banerjee has directed that carnivals should be held in all districts,” said a senior government official.
“Some of the biggest community pujas which received awards from the state government and the district administrations would be participating in the events. The chief minister decided to hold puja carnivals across the state after the Durga Puja received a heritage tag from UNESCO this year,” said the official.
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In Kolkata, around 100 pujas will showcase their idols and take part in the procession on the Red Road.
The Kolkata carnival will start with a show by the Kolkata Police’s ‘Daredevil’ force followed by several other performances.
On September 1, the state government had organised a huge thanksgiving rally which was led by CM Mamata Banerjee.
Thousands, including puja committees, school children, folk artists among others, participated in the rally.
“This year the festivity started much earlier as the zeal among all the puja committees was all the more. While on one hand the festivity was rather muted because of the Covid-19 restrictions over the last two years and secondly this year the Durga Puja in Kolkata has got a heritage tag from UNESCO. All the puja are geared up as chief minister Mamata Banerjee has also taken personal interest. She led the thanks giving rally on September 1 which culminated in a grand show on the Red Road,” said Saswata Basu, general secretary of the Forum for Durgotsab, which represents around 500 pujas in Kolkata and Howrah.
The state government has however directed that only green crackers will be allowed during the carnival processions.
The Kolkata Police too have issued a set of guidelines for the puja carnival in the city.
“Each puja committee taking part in the Red Road procession will decorate only three tableaux and will get three minutes each to showcase their performance and idol. There should not be more than 50 participants for each puja. The Durga idol, including the height of vehicle, should not be more than 16 feet tall,” said a puja organizer in Kolkata.
The district administration of Jalpaiguri in north Bengal however decided to cancel the celebration after the tragedy on the immersion day in which eight persons drowned in the Mal River.
Both the Prime Minister’s Office and West Bengal chief minister announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹2 lakh each to the next of kin of the dead, and ₹50,000 to the injured.
