Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman announced
Kolkata: Minister of State for Cultural Affairs and Tourism Indranil Sen announced the Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman in 11 different categories on Monday. As many as 75 Pujas receiving the award will take part in the Red Road Carnival scheduled on October 23.
The categories in which the awards were announced include Best Idol, Best Pandal, Best Theme, Best Lighting Arrangement, Best Eco-friendly Puja, Best Invention, Best Ambience, Best Artist, Best Dhakeshri, Best Biswa Bangla branding and Best Traditional Puja and also Best of the Best award.
The Best of the Best award was bagged by as many as 17 Pujas including Suruchi Sangha of New Alipore, Chetla Agrani, Naktala Udayan Sangha, Tridhara, Kashi Bose Lane, Ahiritola Sarbojonin to name a few. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has penned the theme song for the festival and also composed the music for Suruchi Sangha. The Best Idol prize has gone to 11 Pujas, the Best Pandal to as many as 9 Pujas and Best Lighting to 6 Pujas. There are three categories of the award — Best Puja, Best Idol and Best Pandal — for the Pujas in the rest 22 districts of Bengal which will be announced soon.
Meanwhile, lakhs of pandal hoppers hit the streets on the day of Mahashashti to visit their favourite Puja mandaps. The weather office has predicted pleasant weather during the Puja days much to the joy of the pandal-hoppers so the Puja revelers will hit the road more in the next four days — Saptami, Ashtami, Nabami and Dashami.
"We are thankful to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as she starts inaugurating Puja mandaps from the day of Mahalaya. It gives us opportunity to visit the Puja mandaps for more number of days. We try to cover entire Kolkata and its adjoining areas," Satadal Chatterjee, a college student said. Additional policemen have been deployed to ensure better crowd control and traffic management as well.
Meanwhile, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) on Monday announced the name of the Puja committees that will be the recipients of the Kolkata Shree 2018. The prizes are given out every year to the best Pujas by the civic body.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee announced the name of Puja committees that have won the award for this year. 81 Puja committees were chosen for the awards from 402 applications that were received by the civic body. The competition was judged by several eminent personalities.
The 10 categories in which prizes were announced includes 'Serar Sera', 'Sera Pujo', 'Sera Pratima', 'Sera Sailpik Utkorsho', 'Sera Bishoy', 'Sera Aloksajja', 'Sera Paribesh', 'Sera Parichana Pujo', 'Sera Sambhabana' and 'Mayor's Choice'.
The Pujas that won in the category of 'Serar Sera' are Chetla Agrani, 95 Palli, Suruchi Sangha and Tridhara Akalbodhan. In the 'Sera Pujo' category, the winners are: Naktala Udayan Sangha, Rajdanga Nabauday Sangha, Hindustan Club and Abasar Sarbojanin. Baghbazar Sarbojanin, Tala Prattay, Kashi Bose Lane and Behala Natun Dal.
The awards for 'Sera Sailpik Utkorsho' category was bagged by Shib Mandir Sarbojanin, Selimpur Pally Sarbajanin, 66 Pally and Bosepukur Sitala Mandir; 'Sera Bishoy' category includes Bhowanipore Swadhin Sangha, 75 Pally Sarbojanin, Bosepukur Talbagan and Samaj Sebi Sangha; 'Sera Aloksajja' category includes Ekdalia Evergreen, Badamtala Ashar Sangha, Dakshin Kalikata Sarbojanin and Kalighat Milan Samity.
A total of 45 Puja committees have won the category of the 'Mayor's Choice'. The Mayor's Choice award will go up as the Mayor himself will visit several pandals during the Puja days. Last year, the total awards were 101. "It is expected to be more or less same this year also," a KMC official added.
