The Poush Parbon O Christmas Utsab, organised by the Sreebhumi Sporting Club, is in full swing on the service road in Sreebhumi along VIP Road.
Close to 100 food kiosks have been set up along the road, selling biryani to momo.
At the inauguration on Tuesday, local MLA and minister Sujit Bose pointed out that 2.5km of the service lane had been lit up for the nine-day festival which would conclude on New Year’s Day.
Music is a big draw at the festival and top artistes turn up to perform every evening, thanks to the influence of Bose, who is also the club president. On Saturday, Raghab Chatterjee will take the stage at 8pm, followed by Lopamudra Mitra. On Sunday, it will be the turn of the duo Sourendro-Soumyajit, after whom there will be Prasmita Paul and Prasun Bagchi in performance. On December 31, Jeet Gannguli will ring in the new year. And on New Year’s Day, there will be Manomoy Bhattacharya and Usha Uthup.
The inauguration was attended by Rituparna Sengupta, as well the actors Ankush Hazra and Oindrila Sen, who described themselves to be club regulars.
Bose thanked the police for keeping the traffic flow smooth on VIP Road this year during Durga puja. Being a crowd-puller, the club’s puja Sreebhumi is known to cause traffic disruptions on the airport-bound stretch. He also announced that the club’s football team had qualified for the premier division of the league, earning the right to play against the Maidan biggies Mohun Bagan Super Giants and East Bengal. The club’s women’s team will also play in the Indian Women’s League.
A playground named after a departed eminent local resident, Prankishore Goswami, was inaugurated in presence of his two sons, Nataraj and Brajaraj Kishore Goswami.