Jagaddhatri Puja in Singur draws crowd

KOLKATA: Singur, a tiny hamlet in Hooghly district, has attracted a large number of people during Jagaddhatri Puja for its unique pandal, lights and idol.

Singur had hit the headlines after Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee led a movement against forcible acquisition of farmlands by the then Left state government. After coming to power, she had returned land to the unwilling farmers.

With the passage of time the farmers have got over the economic crisis and this reflected during the Jagaddhatri Puja.

The idol of Goddess Jagaddhatri of Ratanpur Uday Sangha was a crowd-puller. Pratap Chandra Koley, secretary of the club, said: "Unlike the image of Goddess Jagaddhatri, who is found mount on lion, in our club along with the lion, there is an elephant and Mahisashura in the same frame." The idol has been made by local clay artisan Govinda Saha.

Becharam Manna, state minister for Agriculture Marketing and president of the Puja committee, said: "On the 48th year, the theme is rebirth. The theme of rebirth, as conceived by artists Malay and Subhamoy, has been used to decorate the pandal.

Straw, bamboo, clay and trunk of trees have been used to decorate the pandal."