A high-level meeting on Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman and the procession with idols of goddesses Durga and her entourages on Red Road was held in Nabanna on Monday.
Senior officials of the state Information and Cultural Affairs Department and Tourism Department were present in the meeting.
It was the brainchild of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to hold a procession on Red Road in which idols of well known Durga Puja committees will be passing on decorated tableaus.
It had been initiated from 2016 and it had turned out to be a carnival a couple of days after the Puja and thousands of people had gathered to watch idols of all award winning pujas passing along Red Road within a span of few hours.
The entire stretch of the Red Road gets decorated and every participating Durga puja committee tries to gift something unique in the procession.
Last year the rally was held on October 14 which was two days after Dashami. This year the date is yet to be finalised. But preliminary discussion related to the procession has been held in Monday's meeting.
Thousands of tourists from different parts of the country and abroad visit the city during Durga Puja every year. A carnival that the state government organises helps to attract more tourists in the state. It is learnt that several measures will be taken to popularise from the tourism aspect.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had inaugurated the procession last year. It is learnt that she would also be present to inaugurate the carnival on Red Road. There will be special lighting arrangement to decorate Red Road and representative of different countries in Kolkata will also be invited to be present in the carnival.
At the same time, there were also discussions on Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman. The state government give award to Durga Puja organisers. Puja organisers from different parts of the state apply for the award.
At the same time Puja
organisers from different parts of the country and abroad take part in the competition to win the Sharod Samman.
In 2016, more number of Durga puja organisers from different countries had applied to get the award of the Bengal government compared to that of in 2015.
The state government had given awards in categories including Sera Pratima, Sera Aloksojja, Sera Poribesh Bandhob, Sera Bhabna, Sera Abiskar, Sera Shilpi, Sera Branding and Sera Dhakeshree. This year, too, the awards will be given and the meeting held on Monday in this regard in which preliminary discussions has taken place.