People need to be conscious as Durga Puja is drawing near & we will have to take part in it: CM

Kolkata: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's speech on Wednesday has brought a ray of hope among residents of the state in terms of organising Durga Puja when there is relentless spike in cases of COVID-19.

Members of local clubs are in dark about how they can organise the puja this year when people need to maintain the Covid norms In such a situation, the Chief Minister's message for Durga Puja organisers and local clubs has come as an encouragement. She said: "People will have to be conscious as Durga Puja is drawing near. We will have to take part in it and accordingly we must take steps from now onward to check further spread of the disease. Let the clubs take a major role in containing the spread of infection." She further said: "I would request local clubs to create awareness among people. They must create awareness so that everyone uses masks and no gathering takes place in the area. They should also look into the matter of maintaining physical distancing at markets in their respective locality. They may also take help of the police if there is any problem." There are 3,000 Durga Pujas in Kolkata while the number is 25,000 in the remaining parts of the

state.

The state government even provided a Rs 10,000 financial grant in the past two years to each of the Puja organisers.