Displaced Bowbazar families seek help to celebrate Chhath

KOLKATA: Families, who have been living out of a suitcase at various hotels after their homes in Bowbazar developed cracks due to Metro work, have requested the administration to help them celebrate Chhath on Sunday.


Several residents of Madan Dutta Lane and BB Ganguly Street, whose origin can be traced to neighbouring states, have been living in the central Kolkata neighbourhood for generations. But Kolkata—Bowbazar, more precisely—being their homes, they have been celebrating Chhath Puja, their biggest festival of the year, at their houses here. However, since they have had to leave behind most of their belongings and shift to hotels following the Metro subsidence, most families do not have the resources or the items required for Chhath Puja with them.

“We start making preparations for Chhath much in advance. But this time, we do not have a home, so there is no question of any preparation. At the same time, Chhath is our most important festival, when we offer puja and observe various rituals,” said Pankaj Shaw, a resident of Bastapatti on Madan Dutta Lane, now staying at a central Kolkata hotel with his family. With almost the entire Bowbazar stretch being cordoned off for the subsidence, many of the families have had to suspend their business or have been left without employment. Close to 20 of those families have approached the local administration, seeking financial and logistical help to offer Chhath Puja.

“Business has been shut since the day the subsidence took place. We could not celebrate Diwali and are now struggling to garner resources to observe Chhath Puja. The local councillor and MLA have helped us with some money, saris and puja materials,” said Shaw.

Some of the families have decided to visit their relatives’ homes for Chhath celebrations. “We require a proper place to prepare and offer the puja and that is not possible in the hotels. So many of us have decided to go to the homes of our relatives in and around the city for the celebration,” said Sourav Shaw, another resident.

For Kali Puja and Diwali, too, most of the displaced families had gone to their relatives’ and friends’ houses to offer pujas and celebrate the festival.