KMC plans to revamp Kalighat temple, DPRs to be made shortly

Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has chalked out a plan for a complete overhaul of the Kalighat temple.

Architect Anjan Mitra, who had been entrusted with the responsibility of preparing three to four Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), made a power point presentation in this regard at the KMC headquarters on Friday.

The short-term and the long-term plans was deliberated in the presence of Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, state Power minister and local MLA Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, top officials of Kolkata Police and other stakeholders. The stakeholders will sit and prepare three to four DPRs before submitting them to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on August 25.

"The DPRs that will be submitted to Banerjee are comprehensive master plans so that Kalighat can emerge as an international cultural destination and a pilgrimage destination. The Kalighat temple is considered to be one of the 51 "Shakti Peeths" (seats of divinity) in India." a top KMC official who attended the meeting said.

The recommendations for the DPRs ask for setting up of a parking place, daycare centre, basic medical facilities and a separate cluster where the shops dealing with Puja articles will be situated. The plan involves the facelift of Tolly Nullah popularly known as Adi Ganga.

"We need to create the mindset of the people for pilgrimage tourism and a clean Adi Ganga is a must for this," the official said.

The recommendation has stated that pilgrims should have a clear idea of the route for temple details like Sasthitala, Natmondir, Jor Bangla and Harkath Tala. The Kundupukur, a sacred tank situated in the southeast portion of the temple outside and the boundary walls need to be renovated too.

The long-term plan deals with setting up of a 'Tol' where religious scriptures will be taught to aspirants, an old age home and the revival of slums located near the temple.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had chaired a high-level meeting on July 4 at the state secretariat Nabanna and had instructed the KMC to prepare DPRs for the renovation of Kalighat by August 31. She had said that the temple's original structure will be maintained and there may be improvement in the entry and exit points.

It is learnt that Mitra, the architect, has kept in mind the actual structure of the Kalighat temple and also the length of road space available during earlier days to have a clear idea of the availability of road space that exists presently. Widening of roads by clearing some encroachments for beautification is another aspect that was discussed in Friday's meeting.

The Mamata Banerjee-government has earlier refurbished surroundings of Dakhineswar Kali Temple, Tarapith, Furfura Sharif and Belur Math.