Kolkata,02 November (HS): Violating the blanket ban of the West Bengal government to prevent Chat Puja in South Kolkata’s ‘Rabindrasarobar'(Lake) because of the environmental pollution,a large group of people today broke open the locked gates of the lake area and started performing Puja in the vast waterbody, causing concern to the state administration.
‘We have been performing Chat Puja in the Rabindrasarobar Lake area for over six decades now and have never faced any such ban on the issue of environment pollution in the surrounding areas,’ said one of the local (Hindi speaking) residents while strongly opposing the government ban along with hundreds of others.
It may be recalled that the National Green Tribunal in a recent order expressed serious concern at the reports of massive degradation of environment in the Rabindrasarobar lake area every year after the annual Chat festival when lakhs of people from across the city assemble there to perform the puja for several days in the lake with their families, allegedly without caring for their proper cleaning of puja materials from the lake and the surrounding areas afterwards.
Accordingly, the Court has asked the state government to impose a complete ban on Chat puja in and around Rabidrasarobar area on environmental issues and put up posters and hoardings to inform the people.
Similarly they have also been asked to take necessary steps to make proper arrangements in several other nearby waterbodies in a number of other nearby localities in South Kolkata as substitute places for performing the puja with due honour and respect.
But alleging that most of the ten other ghats which have been renovated and prepared for the Chat Puja this year in several other localities in South Kolkata, do not have enough arrangements and clear water like the one in Rabindrasarobar for performing the puja,the protesters today demanded that the government must withdraw the ban immediately to enable lakhs of devotees to perform the Puja at Rabindrasarobar like the previous years.
‘We shall not leave the place till the government withdraws its decision and shall do everything to perform the Chait puja here solemly”,said hundreds of protesters in unison.
They also supported the alleged miscreants who had broke open the locks of all the three gates of the vast Lake area this morning and reiterated that they would do the same again if the authorities wanted to lock the gate once more.
Though till this afternoon it is not yet known whether the state government has succumbed under the public pressure to clear open the Rabindrasarobar ghats for performing the Chat Puja once again this year despite the possibility of creating further pollution, or would remain adamant to follow the order of the National Green Court and impose the ban.
But interestingly since the protest began this morning in spite of the presence of a large number of police force in and around the Lake area,no action was taken against the protesters with everybody preferring to remain a silent spectator of the whole issue awaiting the government decision.
