Mamata to inaugurate Uttarbanga Utsav on Jan 22

Darjeeling: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be inaugurating the annual Uttarbanga Utsav on January 22, 2019, in Siliguri.

She will also attend Netaji Subash Chandra Bose's birth anniversary commemoration in Darjeeling on January 23.

Every year, Uttarbanga Utsav is celebrated in North Bengal showcasing local artists and folk artistes of the eight districts. Meritorious students from North Bengal are felicitated and Bongo Ratna awards are handed over to one person each from the eight districts.

This year, 10 meritorious students from each of the 8 districts will be felicitated. Along with this, 10 meritorious students from the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) area will also be felicitated. The students will receive a cheque of Rs 10,000/- each along with citations.

The Bongo Ratna recipients will receive Rs 1 lakh each along with citations. The weeklong festival will be held in all the eight districts.

More venues have been included in the festival this time. In 2018, there were nine venues throughout North Bengal. This year, there will be 17 venues.

A single district will not be the sole focus. "The focus will be on tribal culture and tradition," stated North Bengal Development minister Rabindranath Ghosh.

The minister held a review meeting at Uttarkanya, the state Secretariat in North Bengal on Monday. The District Magistrates of all eight districts attended the meeting along with other administrative top brass.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the Utsav on January 22. The inauguration ceremony will be held at Kanchenjunga stadium in Siliguri.

She will then visit Darjeeling where she will attend Netaji-jayanti at the Chowrasta organised by the State Government" added Ghosh.