Sabuj Sathi gets pride of place as Beleghata 33 Palli theme

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's pet project Sabuj Sathi will come alive at Beleghata 33 Palli puja this year.

As many as 500 bicycles, 200 in finished form and another 300 in the form of installation will deck up the Pandal.

Apart from the bicycles, there will be 5,000 cycle bells, a good number of cycle seat covers and cycle chains will be adorning the Pandal. The finished cycles will be mobile through technology.

"Our club as part of its social responsibility will hand over the finished as well as the installed cycles to our local MLA Paresh Pal who will hand over the cycles to the poor and deprived students of his constituency," Abhinaba Dey, assistant secretary of the club said.

The theme music composed by Joy Sarkar will have sound effects created from various parts of the cycles and will surely be soothing for the pandal hoppers' ears, theme maker Shibsankar Das said, "There will be unique sounds from various cycle parts as part of the music that will surely soothe the Pandal hoppers."

The idols will be of traditional (Sabeki) style and is being made at the studio of Arun Pal of Kalighat.

Dey attributed two reasons for selecting Sabuj Sathi as the theme. "Our first intention is to highlight the project of CM as it has been so beneficial for the students. We are also trying to deliver the message of a pollution-free environment. Cycles are eco-friendly and are one of the most important mode of transport for last mile connectivity in villages, " he added.

The bicycles and its parts are being procured from a leading bicycle manufacturing company from its unit based at Ludhiana in Punjab.

Sabuj Sathi is one of the landmark schemes of the Mamata Banerjee, government that started from the middle of the year 2015. It involves distribution of bicycles to students, so that they can travel safely.

The government has already distributed 40 lakh cycles to students of Class IX to Class XII and will be distributing 30 lakh more this year.

At the Teachers Day program on September 5, Banerjee said that her government is also planning to include Class VIII students under this scheme from next year.