MillenniumPost
Bengal

CM, Firhad Hakim visit Eco Park to see 'Banglar gram'

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee along with Firhad Hakim, state Urban Development minister, visited Eco Park where the replica of a Bengali village is being built.
Banerjee visited Eco Park on her way to the airport to take a flight for Delhi. She was accompanied by Firhad Hakim and Debashis Sen, additional chief secretary and chairman of Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO).
The place, called 'Banglar gram', is coming up on three acres of land and is situated between the herbal garden and the musical fountain. Banerjee expressed her satisfaction over the way the village replica is being constructed.
Benglar gram is an oasis far from the hustle and bustle of urban life. The peacefulness and serenity of the area are bound to attract the visitors. It is likely to be opened to the public before the Bengali New Year, which falls in the middle of April.
There is a palki, an ancient mode of transport in the villages and a rath, a chariot kept in many villages in Bengal and pulled during Rathyatra with the idols of Jagannath, Balaram and Subhadra seated on it.
Almost every house in the villages has a Tulsi mandap where a Tulsi plant is worshipped every day and a chandi mandap in every locality, where the idols of various gods and goddesses are kept and worshipped during different pujas and fairs during Charak festival.
There are mud houses where statues of farmers holding ploughs made of fiberglass are kept. The houses have seasonal vegetables on the open space in front them or behind. Gardeners have been engaged to grow the vegetables. Steps have been taken to ensure that replicas of actual rural houses are built.
Banglar gram will give an idea of the actual villages and the lives of the people there that are found in rural Bengal, to the tourists coming from other states and countries.
Eco Park has become one of the most popular tourist destinations of Kolkata and one of the finest urban parks in the country.
It stands on 482 acres of land, which is surrounded by 102 acres of waterbody. Mamata Banerjee has named it as Prakriti Tirtha.

Next Story
Share it