Trinamool set to organise 'Durga Darshan' for senior citizens

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress will organise 'Durga Darshan' for senior citizens during the Puja. The initiative has been taken up by Sudarshana Mukherjee, councillor of ward 68, through her organisation Boro Eka Lage, which was set up three years ago.

State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim has arranged two of the three air-conditioned buses which will carry the elderly citizens to Puja pandals.

Subrata Mukherjee, state minister for the Panchayat and Rural Development department, will flag off the buses from Citizen's Park on Saptami, which falls on October 16.

The members of 'Baro Eka Lage' will give 100 sarees to slum dwellers who would be travelling with them on the occasion.

The elderly persons will visit Bagbazar Sarbajanin Durgotsav and then visit Mayer Bari. They will then go to Sovabazar Rajbari.

They will have bhog at Priyanath Mullick Road, organised by Subrata Bakshi, Trinamool MP. "Three years ago we formed 'Baro Eka Lage', a group of elderly senior citizens of Ward 68 and thereafter we have been involved in various activities for our members throughout the year. Our mission was to look after these elderly people and provide proper service to them in their hour of need," said Sudarshana Mukherjee.

Mukherjee maintained that the senior citizens who visit the pandals during Durga Puja, enjoy it thoroughly. "They are taken in air-conditioned buses and are assisted by our volunteers to ensure that they do not face any problem."

The state government has taken special initiatives for the senior citizens. The second phase of the senior citizen's park on Cornfield Road will be set up soon.

New Town Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) has set up Swapno Bhor, a place where senior citizens come and take part in different activities. There is a park covering an area of three acres, where elderly people can take a stroll in the morning. A two-storeyed building houses a library, a coffee shop and lounges where cultural functions are held throughout the year. A state-of-the-art building for senior citizens called Snehadiya is also coming up.