The event began with a performance of acrobatics on motorcycles by the ‘Daredevil’ force of Kolkata Police, followed by a dance troupe of over 300 dancers by Dona Ganguly.
The event began with a performance of acrobatics on motorcycles by the ‘Daredevil’ force of Kolkata Police, followed by a dance troupe of over 300 dancers by Dona Ganguly.
The West Bengal government on Saturday organized a grand Durga Puja immersion carnival on the city’s Red Road, in which around Rs. 100 big ticket community worship committees participated, Organized after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the carnival was conceived by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in 2018.
Ms Banerjee was present at the venue along with her cabinet colleagues, top state government officials, dignitaries from foreign embassies and consulates at the venue on the Red Road as hundreds of Durga Puja organizers with idols and a cultural troupe from the main street of the city. had passed. A song and dance celebrating autumn.
The event began with an acrobatic performance on motorcycles by the ‘Daredevil’ force of Kolkata Police, followed by a dance troupe of over 300 dancers by Dona Ganguly. Thereafter the community Durga Puja clubs followed one after the other with cultural performances incorporating various traditional forms like Chhau dance and folk dance forms from different parts of the country.
Idols of Durga Puja from Red Road were immersed at various ghats of Hooghly river. Ms Banerjee watched the ceremony, which lasted for more than three hours, clapped to the beat of songs, greeted the artists and came down from the stage to meet the artists. The Chief Minister also joined a group of dancers performing a tribal dance form and danced with them.
The Kolkata Police had made elaborate arrangements for the immersion carnival. The idols were brought on vehicles from different parts of the city and placed near the venue to participate in the carnival. Around 2,500 police personnel and 1,200 firefighters were deployed at the carnival site. A notification from the traffic department of Kolkata Police said that “Idle Immersion Carnival, 2022 Red Road, Khiddarpur Road, Lover’s Lane, Hospital Road (North Bound) Queens Way, Esplanade Ramp, Plassey Gate Road and Mayo Road will be closed for vehicular movement for some time on 08.10.2022”.
A similar Durga Puja idol immersion carnival was organized on 7 October at various district headquarters in the state. With the idol immersion carnival, the Durga Puja festival in Kolkata concluded.
The Chief Minister announced the beginning of the festival by organizing and leading a rally on September 1, about five weeks ago, to thank UNESCO for including Durga Puja in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO had included Durga Puja in Kolkata in December 2021 in the list, which this year has given impetus to the organizers and also the West Bengal government which is promoting the festival in front of the international community.