Nabadwip and Cooch Behar given heritage status

The towns of Nabadwip and Cooch Behar have been officially given heritage status by the State Government. The process was in the works for the last few months, and finally, recently, the announcement was officially made.

The decision regarding giving the status of heritage town has been taken by the State Government after detailed studies of the places by teams of multi-disciplinary experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and the Indian Institute of Science and Technology, Shibpur.

Long and storied history

Both towns have a lot of history and culture entwined with them. Nabadwip is the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the 16th-century proponent of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

Cooch Behar is well-known as the capital of the formerly princely state of the same name, and the royal palace there draws a lot of tourists. It is also famous as the site of a famous Ras Mela at the Madan Mohan Bari temple grounds.

The State Heritage Commission has brought out a detailed list of the heritage structures in the two towns. Nabadwip has 86 such structures and Cooch Behar has 155.

Preserving heritage

Being a heritage town comes with several restrictions aimed at preserving the heritage value of the place and keeping the place beautiful to draw tourists. And arrival of more tourists would naturally open up a lot of economic opportunities.

As part of the rules, putting up advertisement hoardings in and around the heritage structures is banned. There are strict rules regarding the sale, lease and renovation of properties and setting them up as lodges. Applications need to be sent to the relevant municipality or zilla parishad, or even to the State Heritage Commission, if required.

 

Source: Ei Samay

 

Vote for Trinamool to ensure a secular, progressive govt at the Centre: Abhishek Banerjee at Nabadwip

All India Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee today addressed a public meeting at Nabadwip in Nadia district.

Highlights of his speech:

We have assembled here, and that too, in this heat, being inspired by the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.

Wherever I have gone, I have asked the people to vote for the Trinamool Congress to help it form the government at the Centre for primarily three reasons – to bring down the cost of cooking gas and fuels, the latter being responsible for the rising costs of essential goods and services; to put an end to the politics of communalism that is playing out across the country; and to ensure that Bangla gets to keep its self-respect.

Today, I ask you to vote for us for another reason too: To see to it that the murderers of your beloved brother, Satyajit is locked up in jail.

We have to give a proper answer to those who have kept us in chains for the last five years.

This fight is between Agnikanya Didi and the secular Modi.

For the people of Bangla, we’ll do everything possible; we’ll never surrender to the scare tactics of Narendra Modi’s government.

Vote for Rupali Biswas, but remember that it is actually for strengthening Mamata Banerjee and helping her oust Narendra Modi from the Centre.

Achhe Din, Rs 15 lakh per person, two crore jobs – have any you reaped the benefits of these, as promised by Narendra Modi? None of you have, I know for sure.

But on the other hand, all of you have got the benefits of the developmental schemes of the Trinamool Congress Government.

The BJP calls itself the saviour of Hindus. But what has it done for them?

The BJP talks about ‘imam bhata’ (stipend for imams) and ‘moazeem bhata’ (stipend for moazzems) being given out of the money you pay as tax. But that’s a falsehood being spread by them.

That money is taken out of fund of the Waqf Board, as ordered by the Supreme Court of India, and the money you pay as tax, all of it is spent on the various developmental schemes that the Trinamool Government has undertaken.

Mamata Banerjee had decided to give Rs 10,000 as a grant to Durga Puja committees across the State. And what did we see? The BJP, CPI(M) and Congress ganged up the next day and filed a case against us.

Therefore, if we want to do anything for Hindus, you try to stop that, and if we want to do anything for Muslims, you call it appeasement.

The Centre unleashed income tax officials on Durga Puja organisers but did nothing to act against the numerous big-spending Ganesh Puja organisers in Maharashtra and Hanuman Jayanti organisers in Uttar Pradesh.

The prices of cooking gas, petrol, diesel, and kerosene had all been increased but then suddenly came down a little over the short course of the last couple of months, the reason being the BJP’s loss in some crucial State elections.

Vote for Mamata Banerjee to ensure the formation of a government at the Centre that will bring prices come down further to levels affordable by the common people, and GST rates to levels affordable by small businesses.

Ensure all of you vote, and vote for us, who will ensure further development for you.

Vote for Trinamool to ensure the victory of the great ideals that people of Bangla have always abided by.

The BJP talks about Hindutva. But in that too, the contribution of Bangla is supreme as without Swami Vivekananda, there would have been no Hindutva.

Abolition of sati, education of women and many other social changes were brought about by Bengalis. It is because of people like Swami Vivekananda, Raja Ram Mohun Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and numerous others, that we as a society are what we are.

The prime minister once called himself a chaiwallah, now calls himself a chowkidar, but he’s neither – on the other hand, Mamata Banerjee is as humble as ever, living in the house before coming to power as well as after.

The NRC has caused lakhs of Bengalis to be removed from the registrar of citizens – if it is promulgated in Bangla, many here in Nabadwip will be affected too.

The prime minister of Pakistan, considered India’s enemy, too wants Modi to come back to power, so do Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi and other criminals, things have to such a pass.

Modi is such a chowkidar who has helped criminals like Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya to escape from the country.

Do you want to vote for such a party? Therefore, vote for Mamata Banerjee.

With pride I too say ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’. But we know the real significance of the slogan, and don’t need to be taught anything by the communal BJP.

Trinamool Congress is always by your side – in case of accidents, sickness, for helping in getting benefits of government schemes and for so many other things.

The BJP has never been seen organising blood donation camps or any other social activity.

The BJP wants to impose an alien culture, the culture of Uttar Pradesh, on to Bangla. Therefore, ensure you vote out the BJP and help Mamata Banerjee realise her promise of winning all 42 out of 42 Lok Sabha seats in the State.

Your votes are as good as precious jewels for us. Don’t waste your votes in the Congress and the CPI(M). Vote for us as only we can defeat the BJP. And on May 23, you will realise the power of your votes.

I request all of you to vote for Rupali Biswas, and help Mamata Banerjee realise her dream of forming a secular, progressive government at the Centre.

Bangla has shown the road to ‘poriborton’, and will ensure that at the Centre too.

The prime minister and his party want to control everything, even keep track of who eats what in their homes, yet have no information on terrorists bringing RDX into the country and killing jawans with it.

They ask for votes in the name of religion. Yet farmers’ suicides, deaths of children in the hospital in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh mostly involved Hindu people. They seem to care so much of Hindus, yet didn’t give proper recognition to Belur Math, a site of great significance for Hindus.

I too am a Hindu but I follow the real rules of the religion – not the ones preached by the likes of Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath.

Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao

Vande Mataram. Jai Hind.

 

Seven more youth hostels coming up by March 2018

The Bengal Government’s Youth Services and Sports Department has set a target of building seven new youth hostels by March 2018. In each of the youth hostels, there will be accommodation for at least 100 people.

Two youth hostels in Jalpaiguri (in Metali) and Bishnupur are ready to become operational. One each is coming up in the Ayodhya Hills and the Jaichandi Hills in Purulia district. The four others are coming up in Cooch Behar, Nabadwip, Malda and Durgapur.

Regarding the ones in the Ayodhya and the Jaichandi Hills, it may be mentioned that the footfalls of visitors in these places have gone up as a result of the steps taken by the Trinamool Congress Government to improve the basic infrastructure of Purulia district. Moreover, the number of youths visiting the place for trekking and adventure sports has also gone up. As a result, the demand for better accommodation has also gone up. Plans are already afoot for enabling locals to open homestays.

It may be mentioned that at present, a total of 19 youth hostels of the State Government are functional, while the government has a plan to set up a total of 40. The construction of 21 youth hostels, including in Balurghat, Jayanti and Gajoldoba, has also begun.

With the setting up of the youth hostels, young single travellers will no longer face problems in getting quality accommodation when they visit any part of the state for excursion or activities like trekking and adventure sports.

২০১৮ সালের মার্চ মাসের মধ্যে রাজ্যে আরও নতুন ৭টি যুব হোস্টেল

২০১৮ সালের মার্চ মাসের মধ্যে আরও ৭টি যুব হোস্টেল নির্মাণ করার সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছে রাজ্য যুব কল্যাণ ও ক্রীড়া দপ্তর। প্রতিটি হোস্টেলে অন্তত ১০০ জন থাকতে পারবে।

জলপাইগুড়ির মেটেলিতে ও বিষ্ণুপুরের দুটি যুব হাসপাতাল তৈরী হয়ে গেছে। পুরুলিয়া জেলার অযোধ্যা পাহাড়ে ও জয়চন্ডী পাহাড়ে দুটি হোস্টেল তৈরী হচ্ছে। বাকি ৪টি হোস্টেল তৈরী হবে কোচবিহার, নবদ্বীপ, মালদা ও দুর্গাপুরে।

তৃণমূল সরকার পুরুলিয়া জেলার যে অভূতপূর্ব উন্নয়ন করেছে, তার ফলে এই অঞ্চলে এখন পর্যটকদের সংখ্যা বেড়ে চলেছে। এছাড়া এই অঞ্চলে ট্রেকিং ও অ্যাডভেঞ্চার স্পোর্টসের জন্য কমবয়সী যুবাদের আনাগোনা লেগেই আছে। এর ফলে ওখানে থাকার ভালো জায়গায় চাহিদা বেড়েছে। ওখানে হোম-স্টের ব্যবস্থাও করা হচ্ছে।

এই মুহূর্তে রাজ্যে ১৯টি যুব হোস্টেল আছে। রাজ্য সরকার এই সংখ্যা বাড়িয়ে ৪০ করতে চায়। বাকি ২১টি হোস্টেলের মধ্যে বালুরঘাট, জয়ন্তী, গাজলডোবা যুব হোস্টেলের নির্মাণ কাজ শুরু হয়ে গেছে।

এই যুব হোস্টেলগুলি তৈরী হলে, যেসকল পর্যটক একা ওইসব অঞ্চলে যাবে, তাদের ভালো থাকার জায়গা খুঁজতে অসুবিধায় পড়তে হবে না।
Source: Millennium Post

Bengal Govt gearing up to turn historical towns into heritage cities

The State Tourism Department has decided to turn each of the well-known historical towns of Bengal into a ‘heritage city’.

Cooch Behar, with its royal palace and famous lake (Lal Dighi), and 2, with its cultural heritage linked to Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, are first on the list.

The State Government has appointed IIT Kharagpur (for Cooch Behar) and IISER Shibpur (for Nabadwip) to prepare detailed project reports (DPR). The renovations and modernisations of the tourist sites and facilities would be taken up based on the DPRs.

Work is expected to begin this year itself. Among the areas to be looked into are the electricity and sewage systems of the places. Similar steps would be taken up gradually for the other famous places in the state.

পর্যটনে সুদিন আনতে ঐতিহ্যের শহরে রুপটান

মাথায় মহামহিম হিমালয়। পদতল ধুয়ে দিচ্ছে বঙ্গোপসাগর। এহেন প্রাকৃতিক ঐশ্বর্যের পশ্চিমবঙ্গে ছড়িয়ে আছে সাংস্কৃতিক আর ঐতিহাসিক সম্পদ। পর্যটন জোয়ার আনতে এ বার রুপটান পড়তে চলছে সেই সব ঐতিহ্যবাহী অঞ্চলে।

মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্ধোপাধ্যায় ঠিক করেছেন ,পর্যটক টানতে রাজ্যের বিভিন্ন ঐতিহ্যবাহী শহরে সংরক্ষণ ও সংস্কারের ব্যবস্থা করা হবে। উত্তরে কোচবিহার এবং দক্ষিণে নবদ্বীপকে দিয়ে শুরু হচ্ছে সেই কাজ।

ব্রিটিশ আমলের বাংলার একমাত্র রাজন্যশাসিত রাজ্য কোচবিহারের অন্যতম ঐতিহ্য তার দিঘি ,প্রাসাদ ও বাড়ি।আর গৌড়ীয় সংস্কৃতির পীঠস্থান নবদ্বীপের ঐতিহ্য তার মন্দিরে ,তার চৈতন্যসংস্কৃতিতে। এসবই সংরক্ষণ করে দুই শহরের প্রাচীন রূপ ফিরিয়ে আনার কাজ করবে সরকার।

কি ভাবে তা করা হবে ,তার সবিস্তার রিপোর্ট তৈরির দায়িত্ব পেয়েছে আইআইটি খড়্গপুর এবং আইআইএসটি শিবপুর। প্রাথমিক ভাবে ঠিক হয়েছে ,ঐতিহ্যবাহী শহরের সার্থক রূপ দিতে মাটির তলা দিয়ে শহরের বিদ্যুতের সংযোগ এবং নিকাশির ব্যবস্থা হবে।

এর পর ধাপে ধাপে বিষ্ণুপুর-সহ ঐতিহ্যবাহী সব শহরকেই সংরক্ষণের আওতায় আনার পরিকল্পনা আছে।

Cooch Behar, Nabadwip towns to become heritage sites for historical importance

The Mamata Banerjee Government will soon declare the historically important towns of Nabadwip and Cooch Behar as heritage sites. As per the Chief Minister’s instructions, the West Bengal Heritage Commission has initiated necessary measures including engaging competent authorities to undertake studies before declaring the places with immense historical importance as heritage towns.

The primary reasons behind the decision are preserving and maintaining the old monuments and encouraging tourists to visit them. The commission has engaged Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), Shibpur to carry out a study on Nabadwip and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur on Cooch Behar.

A road map will be chalked out based on the reports for the restoration of the monuments and other buildings in the towns. As per rules, there has to be a museum in a town that gets a heritage tag. Hence, steps would be taken build one in each of the towns, where their histories would be laid out and also the reasons behind declaring them as heritage ones.

Nabadwip in Nadia district is the birthplace of the great Vaishnava saint and social reformer, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It was also known as the ‘Oxford of East’ for centuries as it was once a centre of learning and philosophy. It is a centre of pilgrimage for lakhs of people from India as well as different parts of the world. The old structures and monuments of Nabadwip portray the richness and glory of the Bhakti Movement in the medieval period.

On the other hand, Cooch Behar in North Bengal is one of the few planned cities that came up during the 19th century. The princely state of Cooch Behar  had a progressive king in the 19th century who had engaged a German town planner. As a result, the houses were built on the lines of German architecture. All the roads in the town were built following a particular plan. The banks of ponds were also beautified. The king had also planned for the setting up of an airport in Cooch Behar. Moreover, it had been a long-standing demand of the people to declare it as a heritage town. After coming to power in 2011, the Chief Minister had decided to preserve the heritage of historical towns and develop their infrastructure.

 

 

ঐতিহাসিক গুরুত্বের জন্য হেরিটেজ তকমা পেতে চলেছে কোচবিহার ও নবদ্বীপ

ঐতিহাসিক গুরুত্বের জন্য কোচবিহার ও নবদ্বীপ পেতে চলেছে হেরিটেজ তকমা – মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় সরকারের এক অভিনব উদ্যোগ। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী এইকাজের জন্য মুখ্য সচিবকে নির্দেশ দিয়েছেন যাবতীয় পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণ করতে। কোনও স্থানকে ঐতিহাসিক দিক দিয়ে বিচার করে হেরিটেজ ঘোষণা করতে যাবতীয় পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণ করেছে ওয়েস্ট বেঙ্গল হেরিটেজ কমিশন, তাঁর মধ্যে উল্লেখযোগ্য হল নির্দিষ্ট কর্তৃপক্ষকে নিযুক্ত করা যারা ঐতিহাসিক গুরুত্ব বিচার করবে।

এই সিদ্ধান্তের মূল কারন, ওই প্রাচীন ঐতিহাসিক নমুনা গুলিকে সংরক্ষণ করা ও পর্যটকদের ওইসব স্থান পরিদর্শনে উৎসাহিত করা। কন্সারভেশন আর্কিটেক্টও বিশেষজ্ঞদের নিয়ে গঠিত ওই দলগুলি শীঘ্রই তাদের নির্দিষ্ট করা স্থানগুলিতে যাবেন। তাঁরা গভীর অনুসন্ধান করে যা রিপোর্ট দেবেন, সেটিই রাজ্যসরকারের কাছে পাঠানো হবে।

একটি কর্মসূচী তৈরী করা হবে যেটিকে অনুসরণ করে ওই ঐতিহাসিক সৌধ ও বাড়িগুলির সংস্কারের কাজ করা হবে। ওই দুটি শহরে একটি করে মিউজিয়াম গড়ে তোলা হবে যেটিকে হেরিটেজ বলে ঘোষণা করা হবে। এর পাশাপাশি ওই মিউজিয়ামগুলিকে হেরিটেজ ঘোষণা করার কারণও লিপিবদ্ধ থাকবে।

নদীয়া জেলার নবদ্বীপ হল বৈষ্ণব মহাপ্রভু ও সমাজ সংস্কারক শ্রী চৈতন্যদেবের জন্মস্থান। দর্শন শাস্ত্রের জন্য নবদ্বীপ নগর শতাব্দীর পর শতাব্দী ধরে প্রাচ্যের অক্সফোর্ড বলে পরিচিত ছিল। এই অঞ্চলটি এককালে সারা বিশ্ব ও দেশের কাছে ছিল পীঠস্থান। আজও এখানকার স্মৃতিসৌধগুলি মধ্যযুগের ভক্তি আন্দোলনের ঐতিহ্য বহন করে।

অন্যদিকে কোচবিহার হল ঊনবিংশ শতাব্দীর কয়েকটি পরিকল্পিত শহরের একটি। উত্তরবঙ্গের এই স্থাপত্যে মোড়া ঊনবিংশ শতকের শহরে এক প্রগতিশীল রাজা এক জার্মান স্থপতিকে নিযুক্ত করেছিলেন এই শহরের পরিকল্পনা করতে। তাই বাড়িগুলি তৈরি হয়েছে জার্মান স্থপতির পরিকল্পনা অনুযায়ী। সমস্ত রাস্তাঘাট তৈরি হয়েছে সুপরিকল্পিত ভাবে ও পুকুরের পাড়গুলিকেও সুন্দর ভাবে সাজানো হয়েছে। রাজা ওই অঞ্চলে একটি বিমানবন্দর নির্মাণেরও পরিকল্পনা করেন। এই অঞ্চলের মানুষের অনেক বছরের দাবী ছিল এই শহরকে হেরিটেজ ঘোষণা করা। ২০১১’য় ক্ষমতায় আসার পর ঐতিহাসিক নগর গুলির সংরক্ষণ ও পরিকাঠামোর উন্নয়নের সিদ্ধান্ত নেন মুখ্যমন্ত্রী।

 

 

Biswa Bangla stalls to showcase lost and forgotten art of Bengal dollmaking

Biswa Bangla stalls will now showcase lost and forgotten art of dollmaking in the State.

A total of 27 genres of Bangla dolls, including rare ones, such as Bonga elephants of Sandra (Bankura), animal dolls from Belia (West Midnapore) and Shiva head of Nabadwip (Nadia), have been brought together at the state-run handicraft retail chain.

Some of the dolls are so rare that only one or two families in the entire state make them now. With the market for these dolls going down, most artisan families have stopped making dolls.

The Shiva Head of Nabadwip is now made only at the time of Basanti Puja, to mark the mythological wedding of Shiva and Parvati. The local artists create colourful masks of Shiva. Unlike terracotta figures, which are baked in ovens, these dolls are dried in the sun. The masks, once painted, are then taken door to door to collect money for the ritual. These artisans make dolls only during Chaitra.

The Biswa Bangla authorities are trying to present the different dolls to the connoisseurs in India and abroad. We have already seen a good demand at our London store. We are also coming up with miniature dolls, along with a short history for them. This makes for an excellent collectors’ item.

It took six months to find some of the rare dolls. The Bonga elephants are not made anymore. They were made by tribals in Bankura, and were dedicated to the Santhali deity, Singh Bonga, at a place called Zaher. In some cases, artistes were convinced to revive their art. The figurines need to have utility too. We assured them a good price and a market too. The unique feature of the elephant is its round shape, nowhere found in other dolls. Animal dolls of Belia have unique features and incorporate semi-circular shapes of the ears. The elephants of Belia are different from other genres with their long round trunks and large ears.

WB Govt to open ‘Roudra Brishti’ outlets across the State

In 2014, West Bengal Essential Commodities Supply Corporation (WBECSC), under the state food and supplies department, had launched its own retail chain of commodities, to promote exclusive products of the state in agriculture and food sector, with a distribution outlet in Kolkata called ‘Roudra Brishti’.

The government is now planning to take ‘Roudra Brishti’ outlets to the districts so that people of the entire State can benefit. The state food and supplies department had called for tenders from various municipalities in the State and got a fabulous response. Several municipalities like Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Suri, Nabadwip, Barasat, Madhyamgram have expressed interest.

At these outlets while consumers will get branded commodities at discounted prices, producers of agricultural products will also get a fair price. Currently, average daily transactions at ‘Roudra Brishti’ outlets is worth Rs 50000. They register monthly profit of Rs 10-12000 as per the minister.

Food and Supplies Minister Jyotipriyo Mullick said, “We did not set up ‘Roudra Brishti’ with profit in mind. Our aim is to provide goods to people at a fair price. We are glad these outlets are making profits.”