Srirampur puja committee rejects Govt grant and electricity concession

Several Durga Puja committees in West Bengal have started rejecting government donations and concessions in protest against the RG Kar incident. This movement has now reached Srirampur in Hooghly, where a local Durga Puja committee has decided to return government donations and refuse electricity bill concessions. The Puja committee in Konnagar also announced that they would fund the festival solely through public subscriptions, rejecting any government support.

Previously, three Durga Puja committees in Konnagar, Uttarpara of Hooghly, had rejected government grants. Now, the Srirampur Colony Puja Committee, which is celebrating its platinum jubilee this year, has joined the protest by returning a government donation of ₹85,000.

The vice-president of the committee, Banbihari Datta Banik, expressed that they felt it inappropriate to celebrate the festival after the recent RG Kar controversy, but assured that the Durga Puja would proceed as per tradition. Furthermore, the committee has also rejected the government’s electricity bill concession, opting instead to pay 100% of the electricity costs for the festival. This decision has garnered local support, with area residents willingly contributing more towards the Puja.

Tapan Ghosh, the secretary of the Puja committee, highlighted the collective disappointment of the members over the RG Kar incident. He mentioned that 90% of the members were in favor of returning both the government grant and the electricity concession, prompting their decision to proceed without any financial aid from the state this year.