This Durga Puja salute is for the soldiers
With the entire country gripped by patriotic fervour after the Indian army’s surgical strikes on terrorists’ camps across the LoC, the Kali Bari temple trust here has decided to salute the brave soldiers in their own way this Durga Puja.
As part of their plan, the trust has brightly illuminated and decorated the entire stretch between Shubham Cinema and the church near Qaiserbagh. The grand welcome gate near the cinema has the Indian tricolor on top of the ‘India Gate’ and on either side there are war planes, Indian soldiers and tanks. In all there are four welcome gates.
“Since the festival is about victory of good over evil, the main gate depicts the valour of the soldiers, who carried out ‘surgical strikes’ on Wednesday night, inflicting “significant casualties” on terrorists and those who support them,” said Gautam Bhattacharya, president of the more than 150-year-old Kali Bari temple trust. For the illumination, the organisers roped in an expert electrician of Chandan Nagar district in West Bengal.
“Ever since 19 soldiers were killed in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir earlier this month (September), we wanted to theme our decoration work on the Indian army. And the surgical strikes by the soldiers prompted us to say ‘thank you’ to them in our own way. We hope devotees will appreciate our initiative,” Bhattacharya said.
He said the aim was to make the devotees aware of the bravery of our soldiers and how they protect the borders day and night to ensure our safety.
“The Kali Bari temple trust stands firmly united against terrorism and those who support and sponsor it. Through this illumination we want to express our gratitude to the brave soldiers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bengali Club has also decided to dedicate its Durga Puja celebrations to the brave soldiers. “The way Indian jawans avenged the death of 19 soldiers by carrying out surgical strikes prompted us to dedicate this year’s Durga Puja to them,” said Arun Banerjee, president of the more than 100-year-old club.