Puja committees conduct rallies to create awareness about environment

Responding to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s call on preserving nature and water bodies, several Durga Puja committees are taking out rallies to make people aware on the ill effects of filling up of water bodies and felling of trees.

This comes at the time when the Chief Minister has directed the administration to take stringent steps if anyone is found filling up water bodies to bring up highrises or for any other purposes.

She had also announced in Hooghly on Thursday that the cleanest district would be getting an award of Rs 10 lakh from the state panchayat and rural development department.

More than hundred members of Buripukur Sarbojonin Durgotsav at Noapara near Barasat in North 24 Parganas held a rally in the area. They visited door to door carrying placards carrying messages on ill effects of causing damaged to the nature in different ways.

People who participated in the rally were found requesting people not to dump garbage near water bodies, mainly ponds and lakes.

They were also found asking people to inform the police, if they found anyone trying to fill up a pond or a portion of it to develop highrises.

Besides local residents, many others from adjacent localities joined the unique rally that was organised to give a social message keeping in mind Bengal’s biggest festival ahead.

This year, the Puja Mandap in the area has also been constructed with a theme on preservation of waterbodies and the nature. The artists are busy giving their final touches to give shape to the mandap. People, who will visit the mandap, will start taking steps to keep their area clean.

Another Durga Puja committee at Pike Para in North Kolkata too is bringing up their mandap based on a theme of afforestation where people will get to see the ill effects of felling of trees. The basic idea behind choosing such a theme is to make people in the urban area feel once again that how concretisation is affecting the nature.

Jorasanko’s 7 Palli Sarbojonin Durgapuja, which is celebrating its Golden Jubilee, is working on the theme “Dushan noe bhusan”. It is launching campaign against use of plastics. Art works will be put up in either side of the road. There will be decoration made of beads, button and plastic sheets maintaining stipulated grain.

Message on ill effects of the use of plastic will be highlighted through posters.