Mamata Banerjee said that a mega rally in Kolkata on September 1 will mark the beginning of Durga Puja celebrations.
Kolkata:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today announced that her government will increase grants to Durga Puja organizing committees in the state from Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. The concession on electricity charges to be made by the worship committees will also be increased to 60 percent from the existing 50 percent.
The Bengal Chief Minister also said that a massive rally will be organized in Kolkata on September 1 to thank UNESCO for including Kolkata’s Durga Puja in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Kolkata’s Durga Puja is the first festival in Asia to get this recognition from UNESCO.
Ms Banerjee also announced that all state government offices will remain closed from September 30 to October 10 to mark the annual autumn festival.
He made these announcements during a meeting with the members of the Durga Puja Organizing Committee at Netaji Indoor Stadium in the city today. The state government wants to promote Durga Puja as an international festival and Ms Banerjee has asked all the puja organizers to ensure that foreign tourists do not face any problem during their visit to the city.
According to Ms. Banerjee, the mega rally will start from Jorasanko Thakurbari (birthplace of Rabindranath Tagore) in north Kolkata at 2 pm on September 1 and will reach Dharmatala in central Kolkata via Rani Rasmani Avenue.
The Chief Minister requested all the puja organizers to participate in the mega procession. He also requested that the students of class 11 and 12 be allowed to participate in it. The procession will be of about five kilometres. Ms Banerjee said that UNESCO representatives will join the procession as guests.
Ms. Banerjee said, “This year’s puja is going to be special. We should plan very well this time. Many people from abroad are going to travel.”
While Durga Puja is starting from September 30 this year, the Bengal Chief Minister said that the festivities will begin with a mega procession on September 1. “We will hold a rally – not a political rally, but a rally to welcome the Goddess. It will be like a carnival. We will thank UNESCO on September 1 in the presence of the Consul General, prominent industrialists and other eminent persons,” Ms. Banerjee he said.
The celebrations will be held at the same time as a mega procession not only in the state capital Kolkata, but also in the districts.
Taking a dig at the central government, Ms Banerjee said: “The Center has stopped funding even for the 100-day programme. Our coffers are empty, but we are still extending financial assistance [to puja committees] ₹50,000 to ₹60,000. I pray that Maa Durga fills our treasury. We are increasing the concession on electricity bills for worship committees from the current 50 per cent to 60 per cent.
Hitting out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said: “People say, ‘They don’t allow Durga Puja in Kolkata’. They don’t see that anywhere in the world Durga Puja is celebrated the way it is in Kolkata.”
Apart from small pujas and home pujas, there are about 43,000 registered Durga Puja committees in West Bengal. In Bengal, 2,141 Durga Pujas are organized by women.