Puja pandals in Bengal highlight plight of migrant workers
As West Bengal gears up for its biggest festival, the Durga Puja, which starts next week, some organising committees have decided to portray in their pandals, the travails of migrant workers in the wake of the lockdown imposed on March 25 to fight Covid-19 -keeping with the trend of pandals reflecting contemporary themes.
At least 10 million migrant workers left cities -- many lost jobs because of the lockdown -and returned to their homes in the hinterland. With special trains for them being launched only on May 1, many ended up walking home in April, and even later.
Some hired trucks and buses. A few cycled back home. West Bengal alone is estimated to have seen the return of at least a million such workers.
“Not only are we installing statues of migrant workers on the move to portray one of the biggest human migrations the country witnessed after Partition, but we are also coming up with a statue of actor Sonu
A Durga puja pandal in Salt Lake, Kolkata.
Sood, who booked chartered flights, trains and buses to help migrant workers return home, secretary of Keshtopur Prafulla Kanan (Pashim) Adhibasi Prinda puja committee in Kolkata.
Artisans at a puja pandal in Salt Lake’s AK block have made life-sized statues, and painted murals to depict scenes of the
massive exodus during the 68-day lockdown.
“More than a dozen statues, depicting people from various walks of life, are being installed in the pandal. They would represent the local press-wala, the panipuri wala, the tea stall owner who basically work as migrants workers in cities. Even the idol of Goddess Durga has been made in such a way that she resembles a simple village woman,” said Raja Banik, one of the organisers of the 33-year-old Salt Lake’s AK Block Puja.
In another puja pandal in west Kolkata, organisers have selected relief as their theme, replacing the idol of Goddess Durga with a statute of a migrant woman carrying her child. Her children, including a son with an elephant-head walk behind her.
“The family represents Goddess Durga and her children, including Ganesha and Kartikeya. The woman is a migrant worker, a mother who is searching for food for her children,” said Rintu Das, the artisan.
In West Bengal, puja pandals in and around Kolkata are built around a current theme -- from a socio-economic problem to the Indian Premier League to cyclone Amphan.
Durga Puja will be celebrated for four days starting October 23. This year, at least 37,000 pujas are being organized across the state, including at least 2500 in Kolkata.
The festivities continue for at least a week.
Press Trust of India
The family members of Shaurya Chakra awardee Balwinder Singh Sandhu, who was shot dead by two unknown assailants in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district, have refused to cremate the body unless the accused are arrested.
The 62-year-old Sandhu who fought terrorism in Punjab was shot dead in the district on Friday, months after the government withdrew his security cover.
The motorcycle-borne men pumped four bullets into him when he was at his office adjoining his home at Bhikhiwind. Sandhu’s wife Jagdish Kaur Sandhu, told reporters, “The family would not cremate him unless the killers are arrested.”
She also demanded security cover for her family.
“All the family members -- I, my late husband, his brother Ranjit Singh Sandhu and his wife Balraj Kaur Sandhu -- are Shaurya Chakra awardees and this award was given by the Centre for our fight against militancy.” “Both the state and Central governments are accountable for the intelligence failure that resulted in the killing of my husband at the hands of terrorists,” Sandhu’s wife said.
She also said if the state government failed to provide security to the family, then it was the responsibility of the Centre to do the needful. Sandhu had fought against terrorism in the state for years, facing scores of terror attacks during the height of Khalistani militancy.
His security cover was withdrawn by the state government a year ago on the recommendation of Tarn Taran police, his brother Ranjit had said, adding their entire family had remained on the hit list of terrorists.
Sandhu’s wife Jagdish Kaur had on Friday said it was the “handiwork of terrorists”, maintaining that their family did not have any personal enmity with anyone.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had condoled Sandhu’s death and set up a special investigation team headed by Ferozpur Deputy Inspector General of Police to probe the killing.