Chhat Puja in Howrah is another festival celebrated in Bengal

Chhat Puja is another festival celebrated in Bengal with much enthusiasm. There are nearly 50,000 devotees who would throng to 48 ghats on the banks of the Ganges. There will be 3,000 cops, 20 disaster management boats, and CCTVs and it will show that Chhat Puja in Howrah is no less a festival than Durga Puja or Kali Puja.
The Chhat Puja is on November 6 and 7.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 5 November 2016.

The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) and Howrah City Police team up every year to take adequate measures for safe celebrations. They have indicated that they will clean up all 48 ghats from Bally to the Indian Botanic Garden. In addition, the approach roads to the ghats will be washed and sprinkled with bleaching powder.
It is estimated that around 15,000 devotees throng each of the ghats in Shibpur, Ramkrishnapur and Bandhaghat for Chhat Puja every year.


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Kali puja pandals in Kolkata encroach on to the roads leading to traffic snarls

Commuting in Kolkata means negotiating the traffic snarls that are now cropping up due to encroachment of Kali puja pandals on to the roads choking the traffic on thoroughfares, lanes and by-lanes. The just concluded Durga Puja has drained all the energy out of cops who remained on their toes for unending hours. Therefore, manning traffic and revelers of Kali Puja has become an even bigger headache for them - Kali puja pandals are mushrooming all over the city.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 28 October 2016.

It seems the organizers have started to occupy large portions of roads at least 15 days before the Puja leading to chaos on the roads because vehicles hardly have space to move, leading to massive traffic jams. Kali puja does not need too much funds and can be held with a moderate fund. Thereby, the number of pujas keeps increasing, and at an alarming rate.
Kali Puja pandals may not be big crowd-pullers compared to Durga puja pandals but their impact on roads is no less. On a rough estimate, the city hosts 10-15 times more Kali pandals than Durga pandals. Moreover, organizers of Kali Puja usually the young brigade who are aggressive and brash, with very little respect for rules. Hence, clashes are not uncommon.


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Durga puja immersion in Howrah leaves the waters polluted

The west bank of Hooghly has suffered large scale pollution because of immersion of Durga idols - this is in spite of the best efforts of the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC). In comparison, the ghats in Kolkata where teams of people were ready at hand to pull out the remains and lug them away by cranes.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 October 2016.

There were lumps of clay and straw floating in the water near Shibpur Ghat apart from thermocol and other materials used in the construction of the idols. Large bamboo structures, some with parts of the idol stuck to them, were also lying near the jetty as well as along the banks of the river and even beneath anchored vessels. Unlike the ghats in Calcutta, the ghats in Howrah did not have cranes to pull out the idols immediately after immersion. The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) had employed a few laborers and underage boys to pull out the structures from the river and it failed to give the desired result.
HMC Mayor has assured that all ghats will be cleaned and all debris will be removed within 24 hours of immersion.


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Durga idol of 2016 to be preserved in Park Street metro station

There were thousands of Durga Pujas held in Kolkata this year and, only 39 of these came to the forefront because they were selected to participate in the first ever immersion procession along Red Road. Kolkata Metro Railway wanted one of these Durga idols to be kept at Esplanade station. It was agreed but could not be implemented because the height of the idol of Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsab, that had been selected, was more by three inches.
Efforts are on to preserve the idol at Park Street Metro station.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 16 October 2016.

The idol built by sculptor Purnendu Dey of Burdwan, has the look and feel of touchstone. It is a work of art and will be preserved in a special glass frame. The name of the sculptor will be mentioned on the glass frame.
Incidentally, the Red Road parade had a number of huge idols, some of them were more than 15ft high and some of the best idols and installations could be accommodated at a place near Eco Park in New Town.


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Mamata Banerjee announces a 10-day Durga Puja festival from 2017

From the stage on Red Road chief minister Mamata Banerjee has made a major announcement - from 2017, the Durga Puja festival in Bengal will be of 10-day duration. It will start from Mahalaya and conclude on Bijoya Dasami day.
She was the driving force behind the first edition of the Bishwa Bangla carnival that featured a total of 39 Durga Puja idols selected by her v government. Mamata Banerjee herself was on the dais as the procession filed past the huge dais set up on Red Road. She smiled and waved to the people accompanying the floats.
Along her on the dais were Sourav Ganguly, Trinamul MLA Vaishali Dalmiya and others.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 15 October 2016.

Encouraged by the response, Mamata Banerjee announced that (i) 10 is the number of days the Durga Puja revelry would stretch from next year (ii) 75 is the number of pujas that would join the pre-bhashan parade next year (this year it was just 39) (iii) 100,000+ would be the number of people who would witness the parade next year.
The chief minister’s call for a 10-day Puja celebration could create problems for schools because they usually remain open till Panchami and offices remain open till Sashthi. Obviously, school students and office-goers will have to bear the brunt of 10-day festivities and endure negotiating the traffic snarls that will be unleashed.


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Red Road in Kokata to witness 55 Durga Puja procession enroute to immersion

Red Road in Kolkata had, till now, been the venue for holding gala parades on Republic Day and Independence Day. It has always been close to chief minister Mamata Banerjee's heart. She had held her second swearing-in ceremony here. And, now, the people of the city can watch processions of 55 big Durga Pujas as the idols are taken for immersion in the River Ganges. It will be the Bishwa Bangla carnival
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 13 October 2016.

The arrangements on Red Road and its adjacent areas will lead to all connecting roads being out of bound for traffic as 55 of the best Puja committees march towards Red Road for the gala show. Each puja can have four tableaux, including a miniature pandal where they hosted Ma Durga for the past few days.
Thee are clear indication of a total collapse of traffic on Friday. However, the extended holiday will that has been declared could come to their rescue.
The idea of holding this mega show under Biswa Banga branding is expected to be sold globally through internet next year to draw international tourists.


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Kolkata Metro carried 800,000 passengers on chaturthi, it was 762,000 last year

On Chaturthi, the Kolkata Metro carried more than 800,000 people - the figure an all-time record for the city's transport lifeline. It was the Durga Puja and metro was a boon for pandal hoppers because the road above was choked with traffic snarls and vehicles literally crawled.
The corresponding figure of metro passengers last year was 762,000 and the hot spot was Kalighat station because that was the gateway for a whole lot of many big-ticket pujas.
Incidentally, around 600,000 people on average travel by the Metro on weekdays.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 7 October 2016.

The increase in numbers led to serpentine queues at many stations, the queues even stretching to the roads above. The trains were overcrowded and, at times, doors refused to close and RPF men had to request people to get off and take the next train.
The number of people disembarking at Kalighat was far more than those boarding the train.


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Durga Puja attraction - idol decked in 5-Kg gold ornaments and valued at Rs 2 crores

Gone are the days of pandal created to house the idols of Goddess Durga and her children. The olden day concept has been replaced by theme pujas and organizers break their heads searching for themes that have never been done earlier. The bottom line is to attract people to their pandals and garner footsteps in order to not just prove their existence but, also, their clout.
One of the star attractions this year in Kolkata would, undoubtedly, be a Durga idol decked in decked in 5-Kg gold ornaments and valued at Rs 2 crores.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 5 October 2016.

Durga’s crown for this idol is about 2ft high and those of the others in her retinue about 1.5ft. The idol is housed in a 100ft high replica of the Jagannath temple in Puri. In order to ensure utmost security, the organizers have installed 20 CCTV cameras and deployed over 200 private security guards. In addition, confectioners have been brought from Puri to make the famous khaja to distribute among devotees from Saptami to Dashami. Flags from the Puri temple have also been procured - these will be hoisted on top of the pandal.
Another idol has gold dusted on the idol that is carved out of a sandstone slab weighing 4.5 tonne. There is also a 13 inch gold crown in meenakari work with precious stones encrusting it for the Goddess. The 35ft pandal and decor are made of elaborate sirish wood carvings and visitors are being monitored on 16 CCTV cameras from two control rooms, with 100 private security guards on duty.


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Senior police officers of Kolkata to maintain law and order in big budget Durga pujas

Based on the experience of last year when there was a near stampede in a the Deshapriya Park puja pandal where the biggest Durga idol was on display, the Kolkata Police have decided to depute senior level offices to maintain law and order in big budget Durga pujas in the city. There could be a joint commissioner manning a big budget Puja or, even, four joint CPs posted at four corners of a Puja pandal to control crowd.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 30 September 2016.

The Lalbazar top brass has asked all traffic guards to work in tandem with the local police. The traffic cops will primarily look after vehicle movement and, the local police will keep an eye on the pandal hoppers. The police must visit the venues or pandals in advance to get familiar with the topography of the area well before the actual deployment starts.
Police have also taken a decision of not putting up barricades on important carriageways like S P Mukherjee Road and C R Avenue till Chaturthi evening. Barricades will be allowed only from Chaturthi evening and the decorators can dump bamboo poles only from Sunday for the barricades.


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Chinese consulate in Kolkata to award prizes for best Durga Puja and pandal

The Chinese consulate in Kolkata, the official representative of the People's Republic of China in the city , has taken a decision to participate in a big way in this year's Durga Puja in the city and award the best pandals. The consulate has tied up with an NGO that works closely with the city police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation to spread safety awareness among Durga Puja organizers.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 28 September 2016.

Members of the consulate will go to the venues for three days starting October 6 (Panchami) and decide on the 10 best Pujas. The parameters for judging will be safety, aesthetics and environment protection. The results will be announced on Nabami.
Chinese expatriates will act as judges and they will visit the pandals unannounced to see if the pandals have adopted proper fire-safety measures, whether there is enough space for fire tenders to negotiate in the unfortunate event of a fire or if the organizers have kept the entrances and exits clutter-free for easy evacuation of people.
Innovative pandal designs, themes and aesthetics will also fetch points.
There are no cash prizes but, the winners will get an all-paid trip to China and the awards will be given away by the consulate in an event after the Pujas. Free trips to China for the winners will be a means to promote tourism and showcase the best-loved destinations of the country.


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Inmates of Alipore Jail make Durga idols for outsiders also

A section of inmates of Alipore Jail in Kolkata are busy making Durga idols for outsiders to celebrate the Durga puja festival. The team is led by a man convicted of murder and he has been in prison now for over 10-years. He ans his team are working day and night for the last one month inside the prison to meet the deadline set by two puja organisers.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 26 September 2016.

Every year Durga puja is arranged inside the jail premises and the idol of last year was so good that some Puja organizers decided to give the order of making the idols to the convict. As a result, the team is making idol for not only for the Alipore prison but also another puja outside the jail.
The team has been allotted separate wards, and have been given necessary equipment and raw material required for making the idols like mud, clay, tools, paints. The team start their work at 7 AM in the morning and continue it till 2 AM. They will be working for free and the money which they will receive for making the Durga idols will go to the Prisoners' Welfare fund.
On a rough estimate, each idol will cost less than Rs 25,000, which is much less than the market price. Incidentally, the theme for the Alipore Jail Durga puja is "Two Asuras", one who is killed by Durga and another with folded hands who is repenting his misdeeds. The second order is from a Club in Joynagar - it is for a 12-foot image in traditional form with "Daker Saaj".


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For pandal hoppers during Durga Pujas in Jamshedpur - try the pool bus service

Jamshedpur is hosting 306 Durga Pujas this year and this is six more than last year. People usually go pandal-hopping on bikes, cars and SUVs. These add to fuel consumption and in turn carbon footprint. However, an innovative method has been drawn up by an umbrella outfit of private bus operators.
They are offering pool bus service that will be a both environment and pocket-friendly option. The capacity of the buses is 30-35 seats, hence extended family apart from neighbors can join in the fun.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 22 September 2016.

The association plan to give a flat 30 per cent discount on fares, which may go up if the service draws good response. This is for half-day booking - half-day will mean from evening till wee hours. This is because people like to visit pandals after dusk because of illuminations.
As per conservative estimates, every private bus collects around Rs 50,000 through daylong ticket sales. Therefore, half-day bus collections would mean Rs 25,000 and 30 per cent of that amount comes to around Rs 17,500. This would mean roughly Rs 500 per head which is affordable.
Booking is quite easy - one needs to call the pool bus service, and indicate the pick-up point and tentative time of arrival. The money will have to be deposited with the staff after boarding the bus. The bus will follow the route that the passengers want, picking or dropping them wherever needed.


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Cuttack gearing up to ensure safety in and around pandals during the Durga Puja

There are at least 156 puja committees in the city of Cuttack who celebrate Durga Puja in a lavish manner and, in order to ensure safety in and around puja pandals, the police have urged puja committees to install CCTV cameras on the roads near the pandals. The police had, earlier, asked the puja committees to install CCTV cameras at their pandals and have added that CCTVs be positioned on the roads as well.
The police feel that such an action would help keep a tab on mischief-mongers.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 18 September 2016.

In addition, police have urged the puja committee members to keep their immersion procession short so that flow of traffic is not affected and, also, to completely ban use of liquor during the procession. Moreover, police officers have been asked to initiate strict action against those found collecting puja donations forcibly from citizens.
As in previous years, there will be five special police officers(SPOs) appointed for each puja committee. They will assist the police to maintain law and order. The puja committees will have to select five youths, with clean track record, and recommend their names to police. These volunteers will be trained by police to handle security measures and regulate vehicular traffic near their respective mandaps. And, to ensure communal harmony in the city, five puja committees will rope in Muslims as SPOs.


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Ranchi traffic police launch drive to remove hawkers from the streets

Ranchi traffic police have launched an anti-encroachment campaign on Mahatma Gandhi Road, popularly Main Road, in the capital in the run-up to festive season of Durga Puja. The mushrooming stalls squeeze the carriageway by almost half and leads to traffic snarls.
The sudden and unannounced drive began from 11.30am and lasted for a couple of hours and, in this period, nearly half a dozen unauthorized businesses were removed from the area.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 17 September 2016.

The intention of the authorities is very clear - they will carry out the campaign daily to keep Main Road and its branches free of encroachment in the festive season and will keep removing the encroachers. It may be noted that Jharkhand High Court has asked the police to keep the stretch free of encroachments at any cost.
Incidentally, the anti-encroachment drive had its root in the Durga Puja pandal poser because road-hog pandals are creating resentment among commuters already. Therefore, the district administration does not want to remain a mute spectator to the hawker menace. In the course of a meeting with Puja organisers, the police had pointed out that the pandals that are being erected on the roads should leave enough room for pedestrians and bikers.


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Clicking selfie with Ma Durga may be banned in Kolkata

Selfie is the in-thing today but, when everyone wants to click selfies in front of Ma Durga, it creates unwanted rush. Therefore, based on previous year's experience, the Kolkata Police are contemplating banning of selfies in the venues.
The culprits are mainly the youngsters because they strike poses before the Durga idol or the pandal in order to win the admiration and appreciation among friends and peers. However, Kolkata police is advising the organizers that they need to stop pandal hoppers from taking selfies. Alternatively, they can consider setting up selfie zones at a place where it does not infringe on the free movement of the crowd.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 September 2016.

As indicated by the police, selfies have emerged as a major stumbling block last year with the young pandal hoppers insisting on clicking pictures from vantage points. That led to blocking of the entry and exit apart from a security dilemma. Organizers have now been asked to install boards warning against such activity and, the police positioned near the pandal will appeal to revelers not to block movement by trying to click selfies.
Incidentally, clicking selfies with the deity has acquired endemic proportion. During last Durga Puja one of the big ticket pujas in Babubagan in Dhakuria, had to put up signboards at the entrance of the pandal barring visitors from click selfies. Mohammed Ali Park, another famous puja in central Kolkata, created a separate selfie zone to divert the selfie snapping brigade from the pandal and prevent congestion inside to ensure smooth flow of visitors.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Didi meets Puja organisers and outlines her do's and dont's

With a little more than a month to go for the Durga Pujas and with preparations in full swing, chief minister Mamata Banerjee took the opportunity to meet over 350 festival organizers from different parts of Kolkata in a "coordination meeting". The meeting was organised by Calcutta police at Netaji Indoor Stadium.
On the occasion, Mamata Banerjee outlined a number of do's and dont's that should be followed to ensure that everything goes like clockwork.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 31 August 2016.

This has been a regular annual exercise for the past few years where the entire cabinet is present along with other leaders and representatives of the state police and different agencies, including fire services, CESC, disaster management and the PWD.
The basic objective is to have a direct interaction with representatives of clubs and address potential problems that could come in the way of a safe festive period.
Among the measures identified by the chief minister are -

Crowd management - the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) must ensure that all the gates at every park hosting a Puja were kept open. Three of the gates should be for dispersal of crowds and only one for entry. This is because lat year, there was a stampede at Deshapriya Park in south Calcutta which had boasted of the 'world's tallest Durga'. 11 persons were injured in the stampede and Calcutta police had to shut down the puja.

Ambulance - each Puja organiser must keep at least two ambulances ready for any emergency. It seems a number of Puja organisers admitted they never thought of such a plan.

Power cut - puja organisers should keep ready large battery-operated torches for any power outage. This is to prevent people from creating trouble. Moreover, the Puja organisers should deploy large teams of volunteers and also keep ropes ready for crowd management.

Immersion - immersions would not be allowed on October 12 which is Muharram. On October 11, which is Dashami, immersions would be allowed till 4 pm. October 13 would be a full immersion day.


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Steel City Jamshedpur wants eco-friendly Durga Pujas - begins preparations

Durga Puja, the biggest festival of Bengalis is hardly 70 days away and, already preparations have been started by Jamshedpur Durga Puja Kendriya Samiti to ensure celebrations keeping in view the environmental constraints and requirements. The Samiti is an apex organization that monitors Pujas in the steel city of Jamshedpur and it has set the ball rolling with festivities expected to be held in the second week of October.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 27 July 2016.

For a start, the samiti has issued directives to all organizers in Jamshedpur to go in for light-weight idols without the use of synthetic colors - this will facilitate smooth and pollution free immersions. The puja committees have been asked to use natural and environment-friendly colors.
The idol makers have indicated that they can make light-weight and eco-friendly idols but, these will be costly. Normally, traditional materials are bamboo, clay and hay, while the lighter varieties were made of coir, copper wire and plaster of Paris. These need more time to make and there is the cost factor as well.
Another aspect is the concern over inadequate rain due to which the level of water in both the Subernarekha and Kharkai was low. Usually, overflowing rivers help in smooth immersion of idols. This will be another point to keep in mind while making the idols.
Jamshedpur hosts over 300 pujas and is second only to Calcutta in Bengal in terms of numbers. Last year's steel city puja count was 300.


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It would create employment opportunities, check pilferage of coal by jobless youths and produce fish - preference would be for the large ones like rohu and katla which are always in demand.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 25 July 2016.

There are 78 abandoned mines in Asansol's coal belt that have water reserves - accumulated rainwater and underground water and, already meetings have been held with the ECL management. MOU is expected to be signed before the upcoming Durga Puja.
As per the fisheries department officials, there is sufficient water available over a 260-hectare surface area in the 78 mines and 7,800 tonnes of fish can be farmed a year there. In the last fiscal, Burdwan had produced 1.28 lakh tonnes of fish and this was less than the district's demand of around 1.4 lakh tonnes. Obviously, it would be a win-win proposition.


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This Durga Puja, Kolkata to throw open its gates to welcome Chinese tourists

Kolkata is drawing up to throw open its doors to Chinese tourists on the occasion of Durga Puja festivals. It will be a part of a plan to build people-to-people relations between West Bengal and Yunnan province. Under the plan, China will bring in tourists to Kolkata from Kunming city during the festive season of Durga Puja. They will travel through the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 9 May 2016.

The Chinese Consul General has indicated that arrangements are being made so that a group of 100-200 tourists from China can come to Kolkata during the Durga Puja in October. The idea is to tie-up with Durga Puja pandals in the city so that Chinese symbols like those related to dragons, umbrellas etc. can also be showcased during the four-day-long festival.
It will basically be an exchange of culture and, a team of government officials from Yunnan province will come to the city later this month to hold talks with the state tourism department officials and the big puja organisers. Of course, they will come after the new state government takes charge.
The itinerary of the group of Chinese tourists will be tour all over the city to see some of the most attractive pandals, apart from the regular attractions of colonial-era Kolkata.


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