Martyrs' Day: Excitement palpable, people's energy heartwarming, says TMC

KOLKATA: With thousands of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and workers coming to the city to attend the Martyrs' Day programme on July 21 from various districts, the party on Tuesday said that the "unparalleled energy of people was truly heartwarming" and the "excitement was palpable".

Party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee visited Gitanjali Stadium, Khudiram Anushilan Kendra and Dharmatala on Tuesday to oversee the last-minute preparations for the programme.

Sharing some glimpses of Abhishek visiting the Gitanjali Stadium, the party tweeted: "The memory of our martyrs will remain in our hearts forever!..." In another tweet, the party wrote: "The unparalleled energy of people is truly heartwarming!..."

Another tweet from the party's official handle, mentioned: "The entire Trinamool Congress family is ready for #SahidDibas!The energy is incomparable!"

At Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, party workers from Bankura and Purulia will be put up. Abhishek was accompanied by Tapas Roy, deputy chief whip, during his visit to the Kendra. Abhishek also visited Central Park in Salt Lake on Monday.

Party workers from Malda, South and North Dinajpur, Alipurduar, Cooch Behar and Darjeeling will be put up at the makeshift camp at Central Park. Workers from Murshidabad and Nadia will be put up at the Gitanjali stadium. Abhishek gave away 'Punjabi' to the volunteers, who would be on duty on the main stage on July 21.

Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay flagged off a tram decorated with flowers and cut-outs of various projects launched by the state government like Sabuj Sathi, Kanyashree and Yuvashree. He restarted the tram route 223 connecting Ballygunge with Tollygunge.

Firhad Hakim, who led a rally in South Kolkata, said: "There has been tremendous enthusiasm among the people in the city and districts and they all want to hear from Mamata Banerjee on July 21. I had visited some districts and I was astonished to see the enthusiasm."

Shaoni Singha Roy, president of the Baharampur-Murshidabad organising district, said more than one lakh people from Murshidabad would attend the rally on July 21. "There are 8578 booths in Murshidabad and 30 workers per booth will go to attend the meeting." Trinamool Chatra Parishad president Trinankur Bhattacharya has released a song titled 'Notun Diner Pothe Egiye Jete Hobe, theke jabe thik joraphul' to mark the July 21 Martyrs' Day.

Eleven rallies will be taken out from different parts of the city like Central Park, Gitanjali Stadium, Khudiram Anushilan Kendra, Hazra Road, Shyambazar five-point crossing, Howrah and Sealdah stations and Jadavpur 8B stand among others. These will converge at Dharmatala. TMC workers painted wall graffiti in Chinese in China Town, urging people to take part in the rally.

The supporters at the makeshift camps will have to follow Covid protocol strictly. They will be given masks and hand sanitisers. The workers will have rice, dal, boiled potato, egg curry for lunch and dinner. Medical camps have been set up at the makeshift camps and ambulances will be kept ready.