Month: January 2014

As a symbol of gratitude and support for the good and inclusive governance in the last two and a half years, the tribal outfit Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Parishad had decided to felicitate WB CM Ms. Mamata Banerjee.

Birsa Tirkey, the president of Akhil Bharatiya Adivasi Vikas Parishad, had earlier said the outfit would felicitate Mamata Banerjee on 25 February.

However, the felicitation programme has been rescheduled and the Chief Minister will now be felicitated by the tribal body on 12 February.

“Mamata Banerjee and her government have taken two historic decisions which would largely help tribals. First, the government formed the Tribal Advisory Council. Second, a separate tribal welfare department was formed. We consider these two decisions of paramount significance and have decided to felicitate her on behalf of the tribal population,” Tirkey had said earlier.

For the first time ever, the official ceremony to celebrate the birth anniversary of Netaji  Subhas Chandra Bose, organised by the state government, has been held outside the state capital.

On the initiative of the Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee, the celebration of Netaji`s 117th birth anniversary was held at Darjeeling Mall.

The celebration programme began at 12.15 pm; Netaji`s birth hour was marked by the sounds of siren and conch shells. The Chief Minister of West Bengal paid floral tribute to the great son of the soil in presence of the GTA Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary of the state.

Distinguished people from the fields of art and culture were present at the ceremony.

Excerpts from the speech of WB CM on the occasion:

I welcome you all. On this auspicious day, present here are the grand-nephews of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose among the distinguished guests. We are celebrating the birth anniversary of Netaji  Subhas Chandra Bose in Darjeeling for the first time.

Netaji was the greatest soldier of our country. His contribution to the cause of nation building and freedom struggle cannot be forgotten. He formed the Indian National army. He designed the Planning Commission. There is little known about the last days of Netaji; that makes us extremely sad.

Netaji gave the slogan Jai Hind, which later on became the slogan for the freedom movement. Why do we not remember those great men who selflessly laid down their lives for our country`s freedom? We made it our responsibility to pay tribute to all the great sons of the soil who struggled hard for our independence.

Netaji said, `Give me blood, I will give you freedom`. He said, `Amra antorer songe desh ke bhalobasina, swajatike bhaobasina, tai amra kori grihobibad. Tai amader modhey jonmey Mirzafar, Umichand. Tara aajo moreni, tader bongsho briddhi hoye choleche.`

On this auspicious day I would like to pay tribute to all the courageous jawans of our country. Icons like Subhas Chandra Bose can never die or go into oblivion. People like him are born to work for the country, to show the right path, to say something that needs to be heard. They are born to inspire the new generation.

We are proud to pay tribute to Netaji here at Darjeeling. Earlier, nobody paid any importance to the Hills. The Hills were neglected, oppressed. There was little communication with the Hills. After our new government was formed, we decided to change that. Darjeeling is a part of the state. We have the same blood flowing in our veins as that of the brothers and sisters of the Hills. Therefore, many of the state`s programmes should be held in the Hills. The programmes of the Hills should be held all over the state.

I am grateful to the Bengali film fraternity. They readily agreed to be a part of this programme. They film industry loves Darjeeling. And not just West Bengal, the entire world loves Darjeeling. We are going to boost tourism in the Hills by developing more tourist spots here. If there is a boost to tourism, business will thrive and that will create a lot of employment opportunities for the people.

We are going to renovate the house where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose spent his time when he stayed in Darjeeling. We did the same with the house where Sister Nivedita spent her last days. From Rabindranath to Chittaranjan Das, everyone has deep ties with Darjeeling.

Whenever we say `Jay Hind`, we are inspired, we remember our martyrs. We are grateful to the people of the Hills for giving us the chance to organise this programme here. We will host more such events here in the future.

Today on this auspicious occasion I want to make a commitment; as long as I live, I will fight for this country, I will work for the common people, and will keep the country and West Bengal intact. No matter which community we belong to, we will work unitedly. Let us speak with unity, let us think with unity, let us talk with unity and let us walk together and work with unity and love.

Thank you.

রাজ্যে তিনটি কৃষি কলেজ চালু করতে উদ্যোগী হয়েছে রাজ্য সরকার। দুটি কৃষি কলেজ বিধানচন্দ্র কৃষি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের অধীন এবং একটি উত্তরবঙ্গ কৃষি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের অধীন থাকবে। বর্ধমান সদর, বাঁকুড়ার শুশুনিয়া এবং দক্ষিণ দিনাজপুরের তপনে কৃষি কলেজ হবে। রাজ্য কৃষি দফতরের বীজ উৎপাদন কেন্দ্রের জমিতেই কলেজ তিনটি গড়ে তোলা হবে। ফলে কলেজের জন্য নতুন করে জমি খুঁজতে হবে না। তাতে অনেকটা সময় এবং অর্থ দুটোই বাঁচবে বলে মনে করছেন রাজ্যের কৃষি কর্তারা। গোটা বিষয়টি নিয়ে রাজ্য সরকারের কাছে ইতিমধ্যেই প্রকল্প প্রস্তাব জমা পড়েছে। রাজ্য মন্ত্রিসভায় তা গৃহীত হয়েছে। তিনটি কলেজে ২৫টি করে আসন থাকবে বলে জানা গিয়েছে। ২৫টি আসনের মধ্যে ৪০ শতাংশ আসন মহিলাদের জন্য সংরক্ষিত থাকবে। কৃষি বিজ্ঞানের ১১টি বিষয়কে যুক্ত করে পাঠক্রম চালু করা হবে বলে জানা গিয়েছে। উচ্চ মাধ্যমিকে বিজ্ঞান নিয়ে পড়াশোনা করা ছেলেমেয়ে এই কলেজে পড়ার সুযোগ পাবে। মাধ্যমিকস্তরে পরীক্ষার মূল্যায়ণও ভর্তির সময়ে করা হবে।

রাজ্যে দুটি কৃষি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় থেকে বছরে প্রায় ১০০ জন কৃষি স্নাতক বের হন। চাকরির বাজারে তাঁদের যথেষ্ঠ চাহিদা রয়েছে। রাজ্যে সরকারি ক্ষেত্রেই বছরে প্রায় ১০০ জন কৃষি স্নাতকের প্রয়োজন হয়। এ ছাড়া বিভিন্ন সার ও কীটনাশক কোম্পানি, সরকারি ও বেসরকারি ব্যাঙ্ক, কৃষি পণ্য ও বিপণন কোম্পানিতেও কৃষি স্নাতকদের চাহিদা রয়েছে। আগামী দিনে সে চাহিদা আরও বাড়বে বলেই মনে করছে বিভিন্ন বণিকসভা। সে কথা মাথায় রেখেই তিনটি কলেজে প্রায় ৭৫ জন ছাত্র প্রতি বছরে তৈরি করা হবে। ফেব্রুয়ারি মাসে মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় পানাগড়ে মাটি উৎসবে তিনটি কলেজ তৈরির কথা ঘোষণা করবেন।

বিধানচন্দ্র কৃষি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয় সূত্রের খবর, কলেজ তৈরি হতে কিছুটা সময় লাগবে। তাই আপাতত ওই দুটি জায়গায় ক্যাম্পাস করা হবে। তাতে আইনি সমস্যা হবে না। আগামী শিক্ষাবর্ষ থেকে ক্লাস শুরু হবে। দুবছরের মধ্যে কলেজের নতুন বাড়ি তৈরি হয়ে গেলে তার অনুমোদন দেওয়া হবে। রাজ্য সরকারের এই সিদ্ধান্তে খুশি কৃষি দফতরের স্টেট এগ্রিকালচারাল টেকনোলজিস্ট সার্ভিস অ্যাসোসিয়েশন (সাটসা)।

Stressing on unity of people in the plains and the hills, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday called for sustaining peace in Darjeeling and working for progress. At a function organised by the district administration to give away prizes to the winners of Himal-Terai Sports Meet, the Chief Minister laid stress on the unity of the state and motivated the young generation to work for the betterment of the state.

Footballers Bhaichung Bhutia, Mehtab Hossain and Alvito D`Cunha lauded the chief minister for encouraging sports in the hills. “This region has produced a lot of footballers for India and Didi`s (Mamata Banerjee) effort will further encourage budding footballers,” Bhutia, the former India captain said.

WB announced that the state government would give Rs 1.7 crore for upgrading the Kanchenjunga stadium. Stating that over 400 clubs participated at today`s programmes, she announced Rs 25,000 to each of them.

Speaking on the occasion, WB CM highlighted the importance of sports in the complete grooming of an individual. Quoting Swami Vivekananda, she said a person can attain divinity by playing football, instead of reading holy books.

“Sports and culture are your assets. You must study as well as participate in sports. We will resume Darjeeling Gold Cup tournament soon. It was stopped earlier but needs to be started again. I trust my new generation, the future generation. You are our future. You have to build a moral character. We need dedication, determination and devotion. That can be achieved through sports. You have to lead the country. Be strong and be steady. You can achieve anything, if you believe in it,” the Chief Minister told the youngsters present at Lebong stadium.

On the third day of her North Bengal visit, West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee today inaugurated the renovated Roy Villa, the house where Sister Nivedita breathed her last. The place will now house Nivedita Centre for Education and Culture and will be maintained by the Ramakrishna Mission.

Speaking on the occasion, WB CM laid stress on the tourism potential of the region. She also stressed on the importance of education of women.

Excerpts from the Chief Minister`s speech:

It is a woman dominated society in the Hilly areas. They run the work, they their homes also. To promote the trend, let us build a women`s organisation here. We need to provide them higher education, so that they can come up with all the qualities. We must utilise their services for good image and good governance. There is a popular saying that if you educate a woman, you are actually educating a billion people.

We require people who can provide selfless service. Sister Nivedita had breathed her last in this house. When I came here last year, I saw animals loitering here; the place was in complete disarray. I talked to GTA, got the house transferred to Ramakrishna Mission, and within a record six months it was renovated.

Let us hope for the best. If you have a will, you have a way. If you have a heart, you can touch people`s lives. Love begets love. If we love something dearly, it becomes our pride, our passion.

Hamro garab, hamro sampad, hamro bhabishyat, har cheez mein ham aap log ka saath de sakta hai.

I have seen many hilly areas, but I must say that I have not seen places as good as Darjeeling. Darjeeling is something different and beautiful. Come, let us build Darjeeling as an international place of interest. It may be from the educational point of view, or the tourism point of view or the cultural point of view. Let us build a new Darjeeling, a peaceful Darjeeling.

We have to bring the Roy Villa, where Sister Nivedita breathed her last into the heritage map. We have to boost tourism in this area. I have already discussed plans to connect Roy Villa with Darjeeling Mall through a road. Kanchenjunga can be seen clearly from here. The place has immense tourism potential. We need to build cottages so that people can spend a night here too.

 We need to promote home tourism. Local boys and girls must get opportunities. They can act as guides and look after the tourists coming from outside. West Bengal and GTA will give full support to Ramakrishna Mission in the upkeep and maintenance of this place.

Darjeeling is now congested; we will look for other tourist spots in the Hills and build the infrastructure for tourism industry in this region. Tourists will definitely come to the Hills. I have heard that during the Christmas season, many tourists could not even find lodging because of the rush. Not just summer, Darjeeling is suited for tourism even during the winter months.

We are soon going to launch bus service to Darjeeling from NJP station and Bagdogra airport. 140 buses are being bought under JNNURM scheme for this purpose. These buses will take tourists across the tourist spots in the Hills.

Darjeeling is very charming. Darjeeling is a darling. I want to see Darjeeling smiling. I want my brothers and sisters to remain happy.

Today I feel happy to have been able to fulfil my responsibility. From taking over Swamiji`s house to restoring autonomy to all the educational institutes under Ramakrishna Mission, renovating Ma Sarada`s home to acquiring Sister Nivedita`s home in Kolkata – we have done a lot in the last two and a half years. I feel it was our moral obligation. We must respect people of all religions, caste and creed. We will give full respect to all our brothers and sisters. Let us all work together for progress.

Thank you.

In an innovative decision made by the state cabinet, the state government will now recruit of state police personnel online, from junior constables to the DG level.  The decision was taken to make the recruitment process transparent and less time consuming. Around Rs 2 crore will be spent to set up necessary infrastructure for the online recruitment.

Transparency in the recruitment of police

At present, all applications for a police job are processed manually. The application forms from the districts are first submitted at the office of the superintendent of police from where these are processed and sent to the Police Directorate at the state secretariat.  It takes about two months to complete the whole process. It has also been decided that oral examination would be video-graphed and it will be sent to the Police Directorate for better transparency.   

Senior officials of the state government said that several complaints have been lodged against the directorate, for recruiting policemen who do not have the required qualification. For the recruitment of junior constables, all candidates have to pass the Madhyamik or an equivalent examination. Even candidates with minimum qualification of Class VIII may apply for the post.

There are around 63,000-odd policemen in the state and very recently the state Cabinet passed the proposal to enrol 1.3 lakh civic police volunteers on a need-based employment.

In many districts, specially the suburbs of Kolkata, civic police volunteers have been appointed to assist police for better law and order and traffic management. The Cabinet also passed the proposal to recruit 1,000 civic police volunteers for the Siliguri Police force.

Online recruitment for health department

In another outstanding decision, West Bengal Government will now be recruiting physicians and health workers through an online process. The Health Recruitment Service Board will not only accept online application forms from the applicants but exams will also be held online. There will be processes for manual applications too.

Fees may also be submitted online, through net-banking.  In the first step, all the required data may be uploaded online. Once this process is completed, the applicant will receive a system-generated ID and password through SMS. These will be required will submitting the fees via net-banking.

14 banks have been linked with the website. There are will be options to directly go to the bank and pay the fees as well. The online recruitment facility will speed up the process with proper transparency.

The Haldia Trade Fair 2014, supported by the State Government, will be inaugurated today. The main aim of this fair will be to promote Haldia as an investment destination. The details of the products being produced in – and being exported from – the port city will also be showcased in this fair. Trinamool Congress MP Suvendu Adhikari is playing an active role to make this fair successful.

Considering the vast opportunities in store, Haldia is an ideal destination for industries and tourists. Blessed with natural beauty, enviable geographic advantage and huge industrial infrastructure created by Haldia Development Authority with the active support of the State Government, surely opportunities are galore for businesses to invest here. Haldia is the place to be, now and in the future.

Seminars on the following topics will be held at the Fair:

23.01.2014:

Mandatory Cost Audit – need and utility

24.01.2014:

Haldia: The future investment destination

Industrial Pollution and its impact

25.01.2014:

Contingent work force: Need for effective management

Urban Dynamics: Challenges in the 21st century

Comapnies like Mitsubishi, Tata Chemicals, Indian Oil, Ruchi Soya, Exide, Haldia Port and different other Industries will put up stalls at the fair. Different development corporations of the State Government will also be present at the fair.

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`গন্তব্য হলদিয়া`। এক গছর আগে এই বার্তা নিয়েই `বেঙ্গল লিডস`-এর আয়োজন করেছিল রাজ্য সরকার। সেই বার্তা নিয়েই হলদিয়া উন্নয়ন পর্ষদ (এইচডিএ) ও হলদিয়া পুরসভার যৌথ উদ্যোগে আয়োজিত হতে চলেছে `হলদিয়া বাণিজ্য মেলা`। আজ, বুধবার মেলার উদ্বোধন করবেন রাজ্যের তথ্য প্রযুক্তি মন্ত্রী পার্থ চট্ট্যোপাধ্যায়। বিধানসভার অধ্যক্ষ বিমান বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়েরও মেলায় উপস্থিত থাকার কথা রয়েছে। পাঁচ দিন ব্যাপী এই মেলা চলবে আগামী রবিবার পর্যন্ত।

হলদিয়ায় শিল্পস্থাপনের উপযোগী পরিবেশ শিল্পপতিদের সামনে তুলে ধরতে এই মেলার আয়োজন। তমলুকের সাংসদ তথা হলদিয়া উন্নয়ন পর্ষদের চেয়ারম্যান শুভেন্দু অধিকারী বলেন, “হলদিয়ায় নতুন শিল্প স্থাপনের পরিকাঠামো যেমন, পর্যাপ্ত জমি, বন্দরের সুবিধা, সহজলভ্য দক্ষ শ্রমিক, এক জানালা বন্দোবস্ত, সড়ক ও রেলপথে যোগাযোগের ব্যবস্থা, বিদ্যুৎ সরবরাহ, সবই রয়েছে। কলকাতা থেকে সরাসরি হেলিকপ্টার পরিষেবা চালু করার ব্যবস্থাও চলছে।”

তিনি বলেন, “হলদিয়ার পরিবেশ শিল্প সহায়ক। পাশাপাশি দূষণ নিয়ন্ত্রণ পষর্দের নিষেধাজ্ঞাও উঠে গিয়েছে। আগামী অগস্টেই বানেশ্বরচকে সিইএসসির নতুন তাপবিদ্যুৎ প্রকল্পের উদ্বোধন হবে। তাছাড়া হুগলি নদীর ধারে শালুকখালিতে নতুন বন্দর তৈরির পরিকল্পনাও রয়েছে। তাই হলদিয়াই যে শিল্প স্থাপনের আদর্শ স্থান সেই বার্তাই আমরা বাণিজ্য মেলার মাধ্যমে দিতে চাইছি।” তাঁর কথায়, “কয়েকটি শিল্প সংস্থা ইতিমধ্যে আগ্রহ দেখিয়েছে। কয়েকটির কাজ শুরু হতে চলেছে। কয়েকটি সংস্থা তাদের প্রকল্প সম্প্রসারণ করবেন। চকদ্বীপা মৌজায় `ইন্টারন্যাশনাল কার্গো হাব`-এর কাজও শুরু হবে।“

রাজ্য ও দেশের অনেক শিল্পসংস্থাকে এই মেলায় আমন্ত্রণ জানানো হয়েছে। মেলায় প্রায় একশোটি স্টল থাকছে। সেখানে স্থানীয় শিল্প সংস্থাগুলির পাশাপাশি অন্য কয়েকটি শিল্প সংস্থাও থাকছে। মেলায় সরকারি বিভিন্ন দফতরের স্টলও থাকবে। বাণিজ্য মেলায় জেলা প্রশাসনের বিভিন্ন দফতরের পক্ষ থেকে স্টল দেওয়া হবে। সেখানে বিভিন্ন দফতরের উন্নয়ন কাজের সাফল্যের খতিয়ান তুলে ধরা হবে। সংহতি ময়দানে ১৮ একর জমির উপর প্রায় ২৬ কোটি টাকা ব্যয়ে `ট্রেড সেন্টার` তৈরি করেছে এইচডিএ। সেই কাজও শেষের পথে। আধুনিক পরিকাঠামোযুক্ত এই ট্রেড সেন্টারেই বাণিজ্য মেলা হবে। মেলায় শিল্প–বাণিজ্য–বিনিয়োগ–উন্নয়নের বিভিন্ন অভিমুখ নিয়ে পাঁচটি আলোচনাসভাও আয়োজিত হবে।

To be a part of the ongoing flood of developmental work across the state, leaders and workers from all other parties are joining Trinamool Congress in large numbers.  In a programme at Trinamool Bhavan today, senior leaders from opposition parties joined the party.  

Some of the people who joined Trinamool today are – Prof. Nityanada Dey senior leader of Indian National Congress, Krishna Chandra Chandra, District President Howrah Congress, Maitreyee Saha, State President of Mahila Congress and AICC member, Mohd. Ashrafuddin, Secretary of West Bengal Pradesh Congress , Sandip Dutta, Secretary of West Bengal Pradesh Congress and Sanjoy Banerjee, General Secretary of NSUI.

Sadananda Ghosh, Sita Kaul, Momin Lashkar, Janshree Haldar, Mofuz Sardar, Rabindranath Haldar, Shipra Mondol, Malati Madal, Rabeya Sheikh, Kader Sheikh – Panchayat members of CPI(M) from Kultali Assembly constituency, leaders from SUCI and other Left parties also joined the party.

Papiya Paul Chaturvedi, INTUC Secretary from North Kolkata, Biswanath Hela, North Kolkata District Committee Secretary of INC were among the new faces in Trinamool Congress.

 

Mustaque Ahbad Milan, area president of INC of the Jalangi Assembly in Murshidabad,  Pachan Haldar, Panchyayt Pradhan of INC in the same area along with other leaders, members of Forward Block and CPI(M) in Howrah also joined Trinamool Congress today.

 

Vice Chairman of Kisan Congress and leaders from All India Muslim league were also among the new joinees in Trinamool.

Speaking on the occasion, leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, “Trinamool Government believes in transparency and accountability. We always talk based on facts and do not indulge in personal attacks. Dr BC Roy is called `Bengal`s architect`. Very soon, Mamata Banerjee will earn the epithet because of her work.”

He added, “After next LS elections, Trinamool will be the decisive factor to form the next government. WB CM is working tirelessly to turn Kolkata into a global city. Governance is not cakewalk. It involves hard work, dedication and a lot of selfless service. WB CM is doing just that. It took years of hard work to dislodge CPI(M) from power. We must be on our guard to maintain peace in the state.”

 

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday proposed the formation of Tamang Development Council in North Bengal for development of the community. Addressing a programme of the Tamang community, Mamata said that efforts are being made to convince the Centre to offer tribal status to the hill communities. She also asked the communities of the region to stay united for its peace, growth and prosperity.

Excerpts from the CM`s speech:

I convey my regards and best wishes to all the community leaders, all the religious leaders, my brothers and sisters from all castes and creed. The National Convention programme organised by the Tamang community at Mirik, was a beautiful one; I congratulate you for that. I want to congratulate my Tamang brothers and sisters for inviting members of all communities here.

The Lepchas, Rais, Mangals, Diwars, Gujars, Gurungs, and Tamangs, I welcome you all. I am really happy to be here today with you. I am just like your family member. I am always with you.

Last year when I came to Kalimpong, I announced the formation of a development board for the Lepchas. The Tamang community is also a large community. We have decided to set up a development and cultural board for the Tamangs so that the community can flourish.

There are many other tribal communities here. We have received memorandums from the various indigenous communities like Limbu, Bhutia, Subba etc. for inclusion into the list of scheduled tribes. The matter is not within our jurisdiction, but we will request the central government to include the names of these communities into the scheduled tribe section.

We want every community to stay together and stay well.  I want Darjeeling to move forward. After our government came to power, this is my 26th visit to North Bengal. Never think that nobody cares for you. I am always beside you like a guard.

Tomorrow I will attend a prize distribution ceremony at Lebong Stadium. Tomorrow we will also be inaugurating the renovated Roy Villa, the house where Sister Nivedita breathed her last. On 23rd January the birth anniversary of the great son of the soil, Subhas Chandra Bose will be celebrated at Darjeeling Mall for the first time. This will be an official government programme. A number of artists from across the state will attend the ceremony along with the people of the Hills.

We are setting up an engineering college at Amtagda, two degree colleges at Pedong and Gorubathan, two polytechnic colleges at Mirik and Kalimpong, and three ITIs at Mungpoo, Gorubathan and Kalimpong.  Yesterday, we had inaugurated the mini secretariat in North Bengal, at Fulbari; we took the initiative for the first time since independence.

Darjeeling is now congested; we will look for other tourist spots in the Hills and build the infrastructure for tourism industry in this region. Mirik is one such spot. If tourists come, business will flourish. We are working on projects for drinking water supply. We are working hard to develop road infrastructure. New colleges and schools will be coming up. We want Darjeeling to remain peaceful so that we can carry out the developmental work. We will work together. We are not any different from you. The same blood flows in our veins.

We need all round development of the region, as well as progress of individual communities too.

 Jai Hind.

The Chhau Dance of Purulia will be West Bengal`s tableau, to be displayed at the Republic Day parade at Rajpath in New Delhi.

During the Left Front rule, there was no system of displaying West Bengal`s tableau at the Republic Day parade, but after Chief Minister Ms. Mamata Banerjee came to power, a new theme is selected every year and it is displayed at the Republic Day parade at New Delhi.

A team of 10 Chhau dancers have already been sent to Delhi and they are conducting regular rehearsals too. The team was led by a famous Chhau dancer, Jodharam Kumar. In 2012, the theme of West Bengal`s tableau was the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and it was followed by Basanta Utsav of Santiniketan in 2013.

Chhau dance is mainly performed during regional festivals, especially the spring festival of Chaitra Parva which lasts for 13 days and in which the whole community participates. The Chhau blends within it forms of both dance and martial practices employing mock combat techniques (called khel), stylised gaits of birds and animals (called chalis and topkas) and movements based on the chores of village housewives (called uflis). The dance is performed by male dancers from families of traditional artistes or from local communities.

In West Bengal, tableaus of various departments – power industry, social and women development department – will be showcased at the Red Road parade. Natua dance of Purulia, Marui dance of Darjeeling will also be showcased at the state`s Republic Day Parade. Seven district schools and two city schools will participate in various cultural programmes at the Republic Day parade at the Red Road.