Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations begin in Kolkata with fervour

KOLKATA: Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations have kicked off with elan this year with close to 1,200 community pujas taking place in Kolkata and its suburbs.


The festival that marks the birth of Lord Ganesh has forayed into the festival calendar of Kolkata riding on the back of a fledgling business community and a scramble among politicians who lack the wherewithal to organise big-budget Durga Pujas to mobilise their workers.

Barisha Unnayan has organised

Ganesh Puja

for the first time this year to set the “tone for Durga Puja”.

“Durga Puja is held with much fanfare here. This year we decided to organise a Ganesh Puja to set the tone for Durga Puja festivities,” said Rudraprasad Roy Chaudhuri of Barisha Unnayan. The budget of the puja being held in Chandi Math in Sakher Bazar is less than Rs one lakh.

Ganesh Chaturthi will be observed on Thursday. In Kolkata, it is normally a curtailed affair with the immersion happening within a couple of days.

Amra Kojon on Prince Anwar Shah Road has completed 10 years. “We started small a decade ago but with the blessings of Ganesh managed to complete 10 years. It is a big occasion for us,” said Pritam Dutta of Amra Kojon.

Maitree Sangha in Salt Lake’s BF and CF block has entered into its fifth year.

“This festival brings on the puja festive mood before the start of Durga Puja. We will have several cultural functions till Sunday,” said Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation mayor Sabyasachi Dutta, who is also the president of Bidhannagar Maitree Sangha club.

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