Durga Puja mega rally to honour UNESCO heritage tag

KOLKATA: Durga Puja, now listed as an 'intangible cultural heritage of humanity' by UNESCO, will be even more special this year.

To mark the occasion, a massive rally is being held from the iconic Jorasanko Thakurbari at 2 pm to Red Road on Thursday, covering at least seven wards. Transformed into a site fit for a carnival, Kolkata's busiest road now bears a festive look with large stages, a Durga idol and posters. The rally is being seen as the beginning of Puja festivities in the state.

Over 2,500 committees from Kolkata, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Howrah and Salt Lake are expected to take part in the Puja rally. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be leading the show, where people from different walks of life will come together. The state government has given a grant of Rs 60,000 each to all Puja committees along with a partial waiver in power bills.

Urging people across religions, caste, creeds and political colour to match their steps to the beats of 'dhol' and 'dhamsa' (age-old percussion instruments) and the sounds of conch shells, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee invited all to join the historic rally.

"Sometimes, it is not possible to send personal invitations. Don't be upset. It's for all, regardless of political allegiance or opinions. I will urge everyone to unitedly take part in this because religion is for individuals but festivals are for one and all," said the Chief Minister while addressing a press conference on Wednesday.

In December 2021, Durga Puja was added to the intangible cultural heritage list of UNESCO. Mamata Banerjee will lead the historic procession that begins from Jorasanko and concludes at Rani Rashmoni Avenue covering a distance of about 5.5 km. There will be a banner thanking UNESCO for the award.

A UNESCO team will visit the city on September 21, 22 and 23 to witness the arrangements for Durga Puja.

Senior UNESCO officials will take part in the immersion Carnival at Red Road on October 8.

School students, representatives of different clubs organising Durga Puja, councillors and people from different walks of life will take part in the rally. The Chief Minister also thanked the Puja organisers across the state for their cooperation.

The state Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Commissioner of Police and other senior state government officials will take part in the rally. Schools in the city will give a half-day holiday on Thursday. All ministers of the state government will also participate.

More than 5,000 policemen will be deployed to conduct the rally smoothly. A meeting will be held at Rani Rashmoni Avenue where sitting arrangements for at least 20,000 people have been made.

Traffic restrictions will be imposed on 21 important thoroughfares in the city during the rally. The important roads where traffic movements will be suspended as and when necessary are Bhupen Bose Avenue, Jatindra Mohan Avenue, Chittaranjan Avenue, SN Banerjee Road, Lenin Sarani, Vivekananda Road, Kidderpore Road, Dufferin Road, Hospital Road.

Members of different clubs that organise Durga Puja will present a small cultural programme during the rally. There will be tribal dance performances and folk song presentations among others.

Banerjee introduced the immersion Carnival on Red Road in 2016. The organisers of big Pujas take part in the extravaganza and their members present cultural programmes. Senior state government officials, their counterparts in different foreign embassies and people from different walks of life attend the Carnival with great enthusiasm.

In 2020 and 2021, the Carnival could not be held due to the pandemic.