kolkata: On the auspicious occasion of Mahalaya, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday inaugurated at least 263 Durga Pujas of various districts, including some from North Bengal, from the venue of Chetla Agrani Puja virtually on Sunday.
Banerjee also urged Firhad Hakim, who patronises the Durga Puja of Chetla Agrani, to take suitable measures so that roads aren't blocked and people are not inconvenienced by revellers visiting the pandal. She also painted the eyes of the Durga idol at Chetla. "Bobby (Firhad Hakim) sometimes you block one side of the road for VIPs visiting the Chelta Agrani Puja pandal. Pandal hoppers pour in at Chetla, but roads should remain open for vehicular movement," Banerjee instructed. She also inaugurated a Puja album of Babul Supriyo titled 'Jai Ma Durga' from the same venue. Banerjee thanked the state administration, including the state Information and Cultural Affairs department and Chetla Agrani Club for making such arrangements that provided her the opportunity to witness so many Pujas of the districts from the city itself. "I know many of these Puja organisers, who have attended my district administrative meetings," she said. She also expressed her desire of connecting with some more Pujas in the districts from the venues of some big-ticket Pujas, which she will be inaugurating in the next few days. She recollected her memories with Sandhya Mukherjee and Nirmala Mishra, both of whom passed away recently. They would attend various programmes of Banerjee, particularly before Durga Puja.
"I am happy that a statue of late Subrata Mukherjee is being set up adjacent to Ekdalia Evergreen Club, the Puja that Mukherjee had patronised. I would ask Bobby to do something in memory of Nirmala Mishra, who had been a resident of this area. A park or a road should be rechristened in the name of Pranab Mukherjee," she maintained. Bangur Park is being named after Sandhya Mukherjee.
She took a special mention of theme maker Subrata Mukherjee for churning out a unique theme of 'Sholo Kala Purna' in which only different components of banana have been used for making the pandal. The fibre of the banana plant is being extracted through a machine, which is the predominant component of the pandal. "It is also being shown that the green fibre can be used for developing the eco-tourism concept," Banerjee said. Earlier, Banerjee had physically inaugurated several Pujas in South Kolkata, including Selimpur Pally, Babubagan (Dhakuria), Jodhpur Park 95 Pally and Jodhpur Park Durgotsav. Meanwhile, thousands of revellers thronged the pandal of Sreebhumi Sporting Club on Sunday.