Tag: Durga Puja

  • Covid surge in West Bengal: Authorities create 24 containment zones in Baruipur

    By PTI

    BENGAL: According to the official, all markets under the Sonarpur-Rajpur municipality, Baruipur municipality and Joynagar II block in Baruipur subdivision will be shut for three days starting Thursday.

    “We will not allow any crowding anywhere. Wearing mask has been made compulsory here. Market places will remain shut for the next three days. Areas under Narendrapur, Sonarpur, Baruipur and Bakultala police stations will be shut during these days. All these steps have been taken after a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases.

    “We are trying to combat the rise and break the chain of transmission of the virus effectively,” a senior official of Baruipur sub-division said.

    “Only the shops selling medicine, milk, ration and electrical goods will be allowed to do business. We will continue our vigil and make sure that the restrictions are not flouted,” told PTI.

    Officials will review the situation on Saturday and decide whether to continue with the restrictions.

    There are currently 129 containment zones in West Bengal, with the maximum of 43 in North 24 Parganas district.

    West Bengal has seen a spurt in COVID 19 cases after the Durga Puja celebrations.

    The Centre has asked the West Bengal government to immediately undertake a review of COVID-19 cases and deaths, and stressed on the importance of ensuring Covid-safe festivities.

    In a letter to the West Bengal health secretary dated October 22, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said the state has reported 20,936 new cases and 343 fresh deaths in the last 30 days, accounting for 3.4% of the country’s new cases and 4.7 % of fresh deaths.

    Kolkata reported an almost 27% increase in positivity rate in the past week, from 5.6% in the week ending October 14 to 7.1% in the week ending October 21, Bhushan said.

    West Bengal recorded over 800 new COVID-19 cases for the second consecutive day on Tuesday, after registering nearly 1000 infections for a couple of days, according to the health department data.

    The state reported 806 new cases on Tuesday, one more than the previous day’s figure, pushing the tally to 15,88,066, while 15 fresh fatalities took the death toll to 19,081.

  • Schools, colleges in Bengal to reopen from November 15, says CM Mamata Banerjee

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said schools and colleges would reopen from November 15, and directed the chief secretary to take necessary measures to facilitate the process.

    Banerjee, after attending an administrative review meeting at Uttar Kanya in Siliguri, asked Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi to ensure proper cleaning and sanitisation of educational institutions before they reopen.

    Schools and colleges in the state have been closed since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March last year.

  • Uncontrolled violation of norms: Covid numbers rising in Bengal post Durga Puja rush

    By Express News Service

    KOLKATA:  Uncontrolled footfall of revellers violating Covid safety protocol as part of Durga Puja festivities has left the West Bengal government in a cloud of concern with Covid positive cases on the rise during the past few days.

    On October 16, 443 new Covid cases were recorded in past 24 hours but the number has gone up to 974 on Saturday, highest in past three months.

    A total of 43,159 people underwent Covid-19 tests in past 24 hours. The positivity rate too rose from 1.6 per cent in August to 2.4 per cent this month.

    The night curfew from 11pm to 5am was lifted for 10 days during the festive season and the state government is planning to re-impose the restriction from Thursday.

    “Among the new Covid-19 positive cases, 449 persons are from Kolkata, where the festive season witnessed largescale gathering of pandal hoppers. Among the new positive cases, 257 persons are asymptomatic. The crowd that hit the city streets every day during Durga Puja triggered a concern about what would happen once the festivity will be over,’’ said an official of the state health department.

    According to health experts, the impact of lifting of Covid protocol for festive days is yet to completely reflect in newly identified positive cases. 

    “Before the puja days, shopping spree began in Kolkata with thousands of buyers from Kolkata and its outskirts turning up at shopping malls and market places. The buyers were ignorant about using masks and sanitisers and social distancing. It appears, the fresh covid cases are fall out of these violations,’’ said a doctor of a Kolkata hospital.

    The state health department is planning to identify pockets with heavy Covid positive cases and declare the pockets as micro containment zones to arrest further spread of the disease.

    “Kolkata administration and district magistrates of seven other districts have been directed to identify the areas which are needed to be identified as micro containment zones,’’ said another official.

    Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged people on Sunday to follow the safety protocols rigourously to curb the spread of the viral disease.

    She urged everyone to wear their facemasks properly, covering the nose, to avert being infected with the disease.

    “Please wear the mask properly. The number of Covid cases registered a spike after Durga Puja. Hence, you must follow the Covid safety precautions, do not keep the mask hanging from your chin,” Banerjee said at a meeting.

    She urged everyone to follow the COVID-19 safety protocols during the upcoming Kali Puja, Diwali, Chhat Puja and Jagaddhatri Puja festivities.

    The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo also warned people about a rise in the number of malaria cases in the state, especially in north Bengal.

    “Along with Covid cases, there is a sudden spurt in Malaria cases in certain areas of north Bengal. I would ask the district administration to clean up every area,” she said.

    Authorities to identify Covid hotspots

    The state health department is planning to identify pockets with heavy Covid positive cases and declare the pockets as micro containment zones to arrest the further spread of the disease.

    “Kolkata administration and district magistrates of seven districts have been directed to identify areas needed to be identified as micro containment zones,’’ said another official.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Bangladesh attacks: Bengal govt asks dist administrations to be on alert against attempt to foment trouble

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal government has alerted its district administrations, particularly those bordering Bangladesh, against the misuse of social media and circulation of fake news related to the recent spate of attacks during Durga puja in the neighbouring country, and urged them to take measures to maintain law and order, a top official said on Monday.

    All state agencies have been asked to be on toes to combat any attempt to create disturbances anywhere in Bengal amid the ongoing idol immersion ceremonies and observance of Fateha-Dwaz-Daham, he said.

    “The government has asked district administrations, especially those bordering Bangladesh, to exercise caution against fake news circulation on the violence and vandalism in the neighbouring country.

    All agencies have been told to keep vigil and thwart attempts to create tension,” the official added.

    A similar word of caution was also issued to senior police officers by Additional Director General (Intelligence Branch).

    “Since 13.10.21, social media platforms have been flooded with posts of vandalism of Durga Puja pandals in Bangladesh.

    “Centering these issues, districts along Indo-Bangla border have become hyper sensitive and the leaders of different Hindu fundamentalist organisations of India pro-active.

    “You are requested to sensitise you officers and men under your control and keep sharp vigil to avoid any untoward incident,” the message by the ADGP said.

    On Sunday, the West Bengal Police had retweeted posts by the Asansol-Durgapur police and Purba Medinipur SP, warning people with the intention of spreading misinformation of severe consequences as brawls were reported over multiple issues in the two areas.

    “Some people are spreading wrong information that bombs were hurled at Puja pandals and damage was done, giving (the incidents) communal colour and trying to disturb peace in the area. Strong legal action will be taken for spreading such wrong and misleading information,” the tweet by the Asansol-Durgapur police said.

  • Analysts see conspiracy against Sheikh Hasina government in attacks on Durga Puja marquees

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Analysts in India are worried by the turn of events in Bangladesh where violence during Durga Puja celebrations has left four dead and fear this to be part of a larger conspiracy to destabilise the Sheikh Hasina government there.

    While the Bangladesh government has been swift in clamping down on a series of attacks that started in a couple of towns in Comilla district of Bangladesh, strategic analysts and former Indian ambassadors feel that there is need for caution given the renewed rise of Islamists emboldened by the establishment of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

    “This is a worrying development and requires cautious handling. It is also an attempt to destabilise the democracy and communal harmony which the Sheikh Hasina government has brought about,” said Ambassador Pinak R Chakravarty, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

    “A conspiracy by a fundamentalist organisation backed by Pakistan is apparent. The Bangladesh government has to neutralise these elements,” he said.

    The Bangladesh prime minister has in a meeting with Hindu leaders already promised stern action against perpetrators of the attack, and several suspects have been arrested.

    Police there have indicated that the spark to the violent attacks, a Koran found in a Puja tableau, was planted by miscreants in a planned conspiracy.

    “We have reason to believe that this is part of a larger conspiracy by elements inimical to both India and Bangladesh. Islamist forces seem to have been emboldened by the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan,” said Shantanu Mukharji, a former IPS officer and security analyst who has served as National Security Advisor to Mauritius.

    Bangladesh has in the past cracked down on hard-line Islamist terror groups like the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and arrested or gunned down in fire-fights its leaders and cadres.

    The Taliban had recruited large numbers of fighters from Bangladesh in the 1990s who formed the core of extremists who later plagued that nation in the last two decades.

    The Bangladesh government has in recent years also hung several Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami leaders who were involved in war crimes against civilians during that country’s war of liberation against Pakistan in 1971.

    The Jamaat-e-Islami had collaborated with the Pakistani Army in the 1971 genocide.

    Ambassador Pinak Chakravarty said, “Smarting from the blows delivered by the War Crimes Tribunal, this is their (Islamists) way of exacting revenge which could destabilise their government and ties with India.”

    Many analysts believe that these elements emboldened by the Taliban victory will again try to destabilise the Sheikh Hasina government.

    “We have to worry about the future. While Sheikh Hasina has been extremely effective in her tackling of terror groups, we must have a programme of de-radicalisation for the future and also see to it that we cooperate with the Bangladesh government in tackling a common menace,” said Ambassador Sarvajit Chakravarti, member of the think tank Research Centre for Eastern & North Eastern Studies.

    Added Sreeradha Dutta, who heads the South Asia Neighbourhood Studies Centre of the Vivekananda International Foundation and is a former Director of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies, Kolkata: “There is a need for vigilance and realisation that events in the two countries are interdependent.”

    Hasina, who has been the target in the past of several coups and assassination attempts, in her statement on Thursday too has warned that India should remain vigilant and said nothing should happen in the larger neighbour which could impact Bangladesh, without stating what she was alluding to.

  • Priyanka Gandhi invokes Goddess Durga, urges people to chant ‘Jai Mata Di’ at Varanasi rally

    By PTI

    VARANASI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday invoked Goddess Durga and urged the audience to chant ‘Jai Mata Di’ as she addressed a rally in Varanasi, one of the holiest cities of Hindus and the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

    “I am on fast and I will start my speech with the ‘stuti’ (prayer) of Maa,” she said at the public meeting held to express solidarity with farmers in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

    The Congress general secretary recited two shlokas in Sanskrit and urged the people to chant ‘Jai Mata Di’ with her to which the audience reciprocated.

    She also ended her speech with the salutation ‘Jai Mata Di’ and greeted the people on the festival of Navratri when Goddess Durga is worshipped.

    ALSO READ | Kolkata Durga Pujas themed on NRC, partition

    Priyanka Gandhi’s gesture is significant as the Congress has been projecting “Hinduism that is inclusive and secular” as a counter to the BJP’s Hindutva, which the opposition party has dubbed as a “political doctrine based on exclusion”.

    हमें शक्ति हमारे संघर्षों से मिलती है। भाजपा सरकार चाहे हमें जेल में डाले, चाहे जितनी रुकावट डाले, लेकिन हम किसानों, नौजवानों, दलितों, महिलाओं और गरीबों की आवाज दबने नहीं देंगे।मैं उप्र की जनता से आह्वान करती हूं कि न्याय की लड़ाई में हमारे साथ आएं।#KisanKoNyayDo pic.twitter.com/jhadWoRZsd
    — Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) October 10, 2021
    As the public meeting started, Priyanka Gandhi, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and other Congress leaders present on the dais chanted ‘Har har Mahadev’.

    It was followed by a reading of excerpts from the holy Koran and the Gurbani.

    “The Congress under the leadership of Priyankaji will comprehensively defeat the demon power which has unleashed itself in various parts of the state,” UP Congress spokesperson Ashok Singh said.

    Earlier, senior Congress leader and former Union minister Salman Khurshid, when asked as to how will the party counter the “BJP’s Hindutva”, said, “‘This is a Hindu majority nation.

    Uttar Pradesh is a Hindu majority state.

    You cannot honestly believe that the majority must not have a voice in deciding how the state is run.”

    “It will have a voice. But the majority’s voice cannot completely negate the minority. It cannot happen,” he said.

    The Congress leader also said that his party has a campaign on Hinduism.

    “Our Hinduism campaign is that Hinduism is inclusive, Hinduism is secular. And, therefore Hinduism wants to move hand in hand with other religions including Islam,” he told PTI.

    “They say that Hinduism is alone. We say that Hinduism is accompanied by other religions. I am confident that the state will decide in our favour,” Khurshid added.

  • Kolkata Durga Pujas themed on NRC, partition

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Several Durga Puja organisers in Kolkata have themed the marquees and idols on issues such as farmers’ agitation, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the partition of India.

    Naktala Udayan Sangha, one of the prominent clubs, has themed its pandal on refugee migration by train.

    “We have recreated a train coming with refugees from Pakistan to showcase the sufferings of the displaced people,” Naktala Udayan Sangha spokesperson Samrat Nandi told PTI.

    Conceived and executed by Bhabatosh Sutar, the depiction drew references from Khushwant Singh’s novel ‘Train to Pakistan’ and Atin Bandyopadhyay’s ‘Neelkantho Pakhir Khoje’.

    Barisha Club in Behala has themed its puja on NRC, highlighting the plight of displaced people.

    Titled ‘Bhager Maa’ (divided mother), the pensive-looking idol of the goddess symbolises the plight of hundreds of mothers who had to leave their dwellings and head for uncertainty.

    However, she is seen clutching an idol of Durga symbolising that she is determined to continue the puja, which used to be celebrated with much fanfare at her ancestral home.

    The marquee is divided into two parts — India and Bangladesh.

    The mother and her children wait in the no man’s land, in a cage-like structure with her children and belongings.

    Rintu Das, who conceptualised the theme, told reporters, “The partition days have come back to haunt us as there are talks of sending back people who have made this country their home for ages.

    Hope the history is not repeated.

    ” Organisers of the Dumdum Park Bharat Chakra Club puja depicted the farmers’ stir, placing a replica of a tractor on the path to the pandal.

    The tractor has two wings with the names of farmers killed in the agitation written on those.

    The puja also courted controversy over the use of hundreds of shoes to depict the police action on the agitating farmers when they had to run helter-skelter.

    The BJP accused the organisers of hurting religious sentiments and demanded that the shoes be removed immediately from the pandal. 

  • Five century-old Durga puja started by royal family, remains the big draw in Tripura

    By PTI

    AGARTALA: A five centuries-old Durga Puja started by the Tripura royal family remains the ultimate draw in this northeastern state, despite the “invasion” of modern theme-based pujas organised by numerous organisations.

    The celebration of Durga Puja was started by the Tripura royal family over five centuries ago in Udaipur which was then their capital.

    With time it shifted to Amarpur and finally to Agartala in early 18th century by Maharaja Krishna Kishore Manikya Bahadur who built a temple dedicated to the mother goddess some 183-years ago.

    When Tripura signed the instrument of accession with the Government of India on October 15, 1949, it was agreed that the daily puja and associated expenditure at the Durgabari temple, Tripureswari Kali Temple at Udaipur in Gomati district and some other temples would be funded and looked after by the state government.

    To adhere to the accession pact, the district magistrate of West Tripura, who is designated the sevayat (servitor) of the puja, has to supervise rituals at the temple.

    The state government pays for the daily puja as well as the grander Durga Puja held in the month of ‘Ashwin’ (Autumn) in accordance with the Indian calendar.

    However, the head of the royal family as the titular custodian of the temple remains associated with all functions which are held here including the Durga Puja.

    The Goddess at the Durgabari Temple here, however has two arms instead of the traditional 10.

    History has it that the then Maharani Sulakhshana Devi, wife of Maharaja Krishna Kishore fainted after seeing the Goddess with ten arms, Panna Lal Roy, who has been researching the history and heritage of the state, said.

    On that night, the Maharani is supposed to have had a dream where goddess Durga advised her to worship a Durga idol which has only two hands visible while the remaining eight are hidden at her back, according to Roy.

    Thus the idol at the Durgabari temple which stands in front of the 120-year-old Ujjayanta Palace, considered to be eastern India’s largest Durga temple has a unique two-armed statuette of the mother goddess.

    The Chief Priest of the temple Jayanta Bhattacharya said, “the idols of Durgabari that lead the `Dashami’ (tenth day of festivities) procession are the first to be immersed at Dashamighat here with the state police standing guard of honour to the deity, and its band playing the national anthem.”

    Earlier, buffaloes were sacrificed to the goddess at the temple.

    However, that tradition was stopped three years ago after the High Court of Tripura banned animal sacrifice in the state.

    Tripura has more than 2,500 Durga pujas, with about 1,000 of them concentrated in Agartala alone.

    Many of these are theme-based with elaborate pandals (Marquees) based on historic temples elsewhere in the country, while others have innovative sculptures.

    However, the traditional Durgabari puja remains the biggest draw for devotees given its historic importance and the association of the royal family with it.

     

  • After COVID crisis, Bengal’s tourism industry eyes revival this Durga Puja

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: In a leg-up to the COVID-battered tourism industry in West Bengal, bookings for the Durga Puja festive season have surged beyond expectations, tour operators said.

    According to industry sources, bookings for trips during Durga Puja are in full swing amid fears of a possible third wave of the pandemic.

    “Many people are mixing travel with family get-togethers at exotic locations, having missed out on meeting each other for a long time owing to the restrictions,” Anil Punjabi, the eastern region chairman of the Travel Agents Federation of India, said.

    “This time, the response and bookings are much more than our expectations. We are getting a very good response. If you compare it with pre-COVID times, for example, 2019, the revival is around 60 per cent. We hope it will grow further in days to come,” he told PTI.

    Raj Basu, convenor of the Association for Conservation of Tourism, said keeping in mind COVID safety norms, many travellers this time are more interested in quieter destinations.

    “People are preferring to stay at one place for at least three to four days instead of hopping in and out of several tourist attractions,” he said.

    Basu said that the tourist response to four districts of north Bengal – Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri is “extraordinary” for the festival season.

    “Most village tourism destinations like Sittong, Tagdah, Tinchuley, Pedong are totally booked for the Durga Puja, and bookings have also started for Diwali and Christmas holidays,” he said.

    Basu said that if the trend continues, the tourism industry would be assured of a turnaround from the lull it faced since March 2020, when the nationwide lockdown was announced.

    As the village destinations are getting priority among the travellers for health safety reasons, there is now a crisis of homestays and resorts in these places, he said.

    With Northeastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim also opening up, tourists from far-off states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka are showing interest in travelling to these places, Basu said.

    “This will benefit the north Bengal destinations also as tourists are interested in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills and the lush green forests and tea gardens of Terai and Dooars,” he said.

    Basu said that health safety awareness campaigns conducted in the villages earlier had worked immensely with owners of even the remotest homestays asking prospective tourists whether they have received double vaccination.

    Punjabi said that during the festive season earlier, the ratio used to be 65 per cent international destinations and 35 per cent domestic, but at present, the domestic sector is attracting around 85 to 90 per cent of travellers.

    “The drop in international travel is owing to limited destinations having opened up and apprehension that they may get stuck over there,” he said.

    The unexpected response to domestic tourism could also be attributed to many tourists opting for driving to destinations in cars or two-wheelers instead of availing public transport, he said.

    Punjabi said that with a large percentage of people vaccinated and the travel industry sticking to safety protocol, tourist movement has started increasing rapidly.

    He said that families are using this opportunity to use tourism as a means of a get together also.

    “Like someone is in Mumbai, and another is in Kolkata, they are travelling to Dehradun or some other destination,” he said.

    This is mostly happening in Kashmir and Ladakh region, where such family get-togethers are being done along with enjoying in the exotic locales, he said.

    Shaukat, a travel agent from Srinagar who recently attended a travel trade fair here, said that though the numbers are yet to reach the pre-COVID era, things are fast getting back to normal with tourists flocking back to the destinations in Kashmir.

    Rakesh Dubey, another tour operator, based in Jammu, said that the Ladakh and Nubra valley destinations are a big draw and people are really excited to visit these places.

    Punjabi said that everyone will benefit further after the international destinations open up and the economy gets better.

    “I hope that if there is no more surge of COVID cases, things will get even better by the day. Once the international travel opens up fully, the industry will be back in business,” he said.

    According to businessman Soumik Chakraborty, after 2019, this will be the first time his family will be travelling to Darjeeling for a weeklong trip.

    “Travelling to various destinations during Puja has been an old practice in our family, but we could not do so last year due to the COVID situation. But this year, our entire family is fully vaccinated, and we will be travelling in our car,” he said.

  • Citizens throng Durga Puja pandals; Bengal government urges people to avoid crowded places

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Saturday asked people to avoid crowded places saying the Covid-19 pandemic is not over yet, as the citizens of the state have started visiting Durga Puja pandals in large numbers even before the actual festival commences raising concern about spreading of the disease.

    The state health department urged people to take precautionary measures against the contagion and celebrate the festival from home.

    “The Covid-19 pandemic is very much active and we must not forget about the precautions we have been taking to combat it all these months. During this Durga Puja festival, we must avoid crowded places. It will be wise to stay indoors and celebrate the festival virtually,” the department said in an advisory.

    A large number of people were seen visiting big-ticket pandals in and around Kolkata in the past couple of days, though the actual puja will start on Monday.

    The virus responsible for the disease has been mutating and the third wave of the pandemic could come any moment, the health department said.

    Making wearing of masks and use of sanitiser mandatory every time people go out of home, the department advised them not to participate in ‘sindoor khela’ (a ritual in which women smear each other with sindoor on the last day of the puja) and keep adequate physical distance while visiting pandals or eateries during the festivities.

    “It’s advisable for the elderly people, children and pregnant women to stay indoors and celebrate the puja online. If anyone has cold and fever, the person should go on isolation,” the advisory said.

    The department has also advised puja organisers to engage people, preferably those who have been administered both doses of Covid-19, as volunteers.

    Meanwhile, at least 12 more people succumbed to coronavirus in West Bengal taking the toll to 18,894 on Saturday, a bulletin released by the health department said.

    North 24 Parganas district accounted for four deaths while three fatalities were reported in Kolkata.

    The tally went up to 15,75,577 as 776 new cases were registered, the bulletin said.

    It said 755 patients recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours taking the total number of cured people to 15,49,049.

    The discharge rate remained at 98.32 per cent.

    The number of active cases now is 7,634.

    Since Friday, 36,429 samples were tested in the state for coronavirus, as the total number of such examinations reached 1,84,71,961, the bulletin added.