Daily puja resumes at Asansol’s Durga Mandir after 16 yrs

Asansol: Daily worship resumed at Asansol's Bastin Bazar Durga Mandir on Sunday — Mother's Day — fulfilling a poll promise made during the campaign, including by PM Narendra Modi, to reopen the 75-year-old temple that had been closed for regular puja since 2009.For over a decade and a half, the temple remained open only during Durga Puja, Lakshmi Puja and Kali Puja, staying shut for the rest of the year amid legal disputes — including a case pending in the Calcutta HC — and allegations that court directives to reopen it had been ignored.After the May 4 results, around 20,000 people visited to offer prayers, and local residents came together to clean the premises. Trustee Sanjay Agarwal of the Sri Sri Durga Mata Charitable Trust said that following discussions with police, a notice has been posted allowing devotees to offer prayers for two and a half hours each morning and evening.Newly elected MLA Krishnendu Mukherjee said daily worship had been "suspended to appease certain people for the sake of vote-bank politics" despite a long tradition of evening lamp-lighting at the temple. He added that communal harmony in the area would be protected and that local traders would face no disruption.