Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will hold a review meeting regarding preparations for Durga Puja at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Tuesday, August 22.
Representatives from the community Puja committees in the city and its fringes will be attending the meeting in the presence of senior officials of the state Police, Kolkata Police, state Information and Cultural Affairs department, state Power department, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and other stakeholders.
Every year, the Chief Minister announces a grant for the Puja committees as well as a waiver in power tariff and the total number of holidays for celebrating Durga Puja with pomp and grandeur. The Puja organisers are hopeful of similar announcements from the Chief Minister this year also.
Last year, Banerjee increased the grant to Durga Puja organising committees in the state from Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000. She had also announced a 60 per cent discount on power tariff as well as 11 days of government holidays for Durga Puja.
“We have been getting much more than we expect from the Chief Minister every year. So, there is no question of placing any demand before her,“ Saswata Bose, general secretary of Forum for Durgotsav said.
Forum for Durgotsav is an umbrella organisation of over 400 community Pujas in the city.
Detailed research conducted by the British Council in collaboration with the state government a few years back revealed that a whopping Rs 32,377 crore economy gets generated during Durga Puja in Bengal. The economy which gets generated during Puja through the creative industry shares around 2.53 per cent of the state’s GDP.
Over 34,000 and 2,500 Durga Pujas get organised in the areas under the jurisdiction of West Bengal Police and Kolkata Police respectively. At the same time, over 1,700 Pujas are organised by women-run committees.
The dates for immersion, as well as the date for holding the Red Road Carnival, are expected to be announced on the day.