Sabyasachi Dutta inaugurates fourth annual New Town Mela

Sabyasachi Dutta, Mayor Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation on Friday inaugurated the 4th New Town Mela in New Town.

The mela will continue till January 1, 2017. The New Town Book fair and national poetry festival was opened along with the fair.

The national poetry festival which will be held in Swapnabhor campus has earned great response among poets and elocutionists. 

West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO) is letting out the Self Help Groups to set up stalls at New Town Mela free of cost as it has becomes difficult for them to pay in cash due to demonetisation.

The groups will sell their products. There are 81 stalls at the fair which is being held near Rabindra Tirtha.

The mela was inaugurated by cycle acrobatics. WBHIDCO is encouraging people to ride cycles which is both environment-friendly and good for health.

Cycling has become quite popular in New Town and many people are cycling in the special area at Eco Park. WBHIDCO is constructing a graded path to facilitate cycling. People under the scheme can hire cycles visit their destination and leave the cycles after making necessary payment.

WBHIDCO along with IIT Kharagpur are preparing the details. Tender has already been floated to select the firm that will lay the graded path.

Once implemented, the scheme will reduce the dependence of people on public transport. Also, it is eco friendly and students might get interested in the scheme.

The chances of road accident will slim down as there will be graded path for cycles. A group of cyclists and experts met WBHIDCO chairman Debashis Sen last week and discussed how more cycling could be encouraged in the area.

It may be mentioned that every Sunday, a group of cyclists from different parts in the city gather at New Town and take part in long distance cycling.

Like other metros like Hyderabad and Bengaluru, cycling has become popular in the city and long distance cycling is the new craze among youth.

Dealers selling premium quality cycles have opened their showrooms in Kolkata.