Outgoing coordinator hosts 'Akalbodhon' at an uncustomary time

Kolkata: Amal Chakraborty, the outgoing coordinator of ward 14 in Kolkata Municipal Corporation is organising a three-day Durga Puja, named 'Akalbodhon' to celebrate Durga Puja's inclusion in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) 'Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of Humanity.'

"As soon as the news of UNESCO's heritage status to Durga Puja was received on Wednesday, I made up my mind to take the initiative in this unusual time to celebrate the inclusion. The idol has been procured from Kumartuli – the artisan's hub in the city and the venue for Kabiraj Bagan Durga Puja was readied on a war footing to celebrate this feather in Bengal's crown in a befitting manner," Chakraborty said.

Kabiraj Bagan happens to be one of the big ticket Pujas in Ultadanga and Chakraborty is closely associated with it.

"Durga Puja is the time for people involved in all sorts of vocations or activities to do brisk business and its importance in the public life of Bengal has been acknowledged by UNESCO," Chakraborty said.

"People from all walks of life have suffered due to Covid. So, we will pray to the deity to free us from the clutches of the deadly virus and restore normalcy," he added.

Slamming senior BJP leader Amit Shah who had hilariously claimed during his campaign before the Assembly elections in the state that Durga Puja is not celebrated in Bengal, he claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's offering of Rs 50,000 each to the clubs for organising the mega festival was a boon, particularly for the smaller clubs who were so badly hit by the pandemic that they had lost all hope of even hosting the Puja.