Bengal's Durga Puja committees to get Rs 10,000 each: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata, Sep 10 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday announced a grant of Rs 10,000 and waiver of licence fee for each of the 28,000 Durga Puja committees across the state.
"All 3,000 Durga Puja committees in Kolkata and 25,000 elsewhere in the state will get Rs 10,000 each. In Kolkata, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the Fire Services and the Kolkata Police will ensure all community puja organisers get the grant under the community development programme. The Kolkata Police will hand over the money to the organisers.
"In the districts, tourism and consumer affairs departments, self-help groups and West Bengal Police will oversee distribution of the money to all big and small puja committees," Banerjee said on the sidelines of a meeting ahead of Bengal's biggest festival slated for October 15-19.
She said that the endeavour will cost the exchequer Rs 28 crore.
The Chief Minister said that she had also directed (power utility) Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation (CESC) to increase the discount offered to community puja organsiers from 20 to 23 per cent.
"I will also ask the Kolkata MC, Urban Development and Fire Departments not to levy any licence fee."
Banerjee announced that the Durga Puja carnival will be organised on the arterial Indira Gandhi Sarani (erstwhile Red Road) on October 23.
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People must do politics; elected representatives must work, says Actor Prakash Raj
Kalaburagi: Actor and activist Prakash Raj has said that in a democracy, politics must be done by the people, while elected representatives are meant to work and serve after winning elections.
Speaking at the launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi on Saturday, Prakash Raj said that once representatives are elected, their only responsibility is service. “This is our tax, our country. Service is the only job of people’s representatives. They come to seek votes every five years; the people do not,” he said.
Releasing the newspaper’s special issue at the event, he asserted that the distinction between people and politicians must never be reversed. “This is our country. Citizens must continuously engage in politics, and politicians must continuously work. Never change this order. Politics belongs to the people,” he said.
ALSO READ: Kalaburagi: ‘Vartha Bharati’ Kalyana Karnataka edition launched
Quoting writer P. Lankesh, Prakash Raj said newspapers, media, artists, and citizens must act as a permanent opposition. “They must be the voice of the people without seeking the patronage of the ruling party. Only then can they work fearlessly,” he said. He stressed the need to clearly tell today’s society who must engage in politics.
Referring to regional imbalance, he said Karnataka has become Bengaluru-centric and confined largely to southern Karnataka. With Vartha Bharati entering the Kalyana Karnataka region, he said the newspaper must contribute to the region’s development by consistently reporting its issues with a strong voice.
Prakash Raj also spoke about the role of independent media, saying that anyone can be swept away in a flood, including dead fish, but to swim against the current requires life. “Independent media have that life. Ravish Kumar, The Wire, and Vartha Bharati have the courage to swim against the flood,” he said.
He warned that fear strengthens authoritarianism. “If we are not afraid, they will be afraid,” he said, alleging that institutions such as the police, Election Commission, courts, and media are being pressured, silenced, and manipulated for political benefit. Expressing concern over the denial of bail to Umar Khalid, he said there is a visible lack of conscience in institutions meant to deliver justice to the people.
Recalling the early years after Independence, Prakash Raj said there was once fear of the police but also faith in the judiciary. “There was confidence that injustice would be addressed in court. Today, that faith no longer exists,” he said. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party are responsible for the present situation.
Using a metaphor, he said India is like a pond disturbed by a demon within it. “A lotus blooms on the surface, that is the BJP. We are fighting the lotus, but the real fight should be against the RSS, the root power beneath,” he said.
Drawing parallels with past global authoritarian regimes, he said leaders like Hitler and Mussolini headed political parties and could be defeated electorally. “The RSS is not a political party. Defeating the BJP alone is not enough. The roots must be uprooted,” he said, adding that despite changes in appearance, the ideological growth remains unchanged.
Prakash Raj also raised concerns over Hindi imposition, delimitation, and what he described as political oppression of southern states such as Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh in the name of elections. He said people must recognise who is responsible for this oppression and understand the role of newspapers like Vartha Bharati in identifying and exposing it.
The event also marked the formal launch of Vartha Bharati's Kalyana Karnataka edition in Kalaburagi.
