The Puja carnival on Red Road will see 99 organisers from across Kolkata, who have been awarded the Biswa Bangla Sarad Samman, participate in the show on October 8, officials in the state government said.
The carnival will start at 4.30pm. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will be the chief guest and the programme will be attended by senior officials of the state government and foreign missions, among others.
‘‘This year we have asked all district headquarters to arrange a Puja carnival a day before the one in Kolkata,” said an official of the department of information and cultural affairs.
The Biswa Bangla Sarad Samman has been split into categories, including best theme and environment consciousness. As many as 42 puja committees from across the city were selected as ‘‘Serar Sera’’, or the best among the best.
Among them are Chetla Agrani, Suruchi Sangha, Sreebhumi Sporting Club, Hatibagan Sarbojonin and Thakurpukur SB Park.
The state government had started the Sarad Samman in 2013. The award winners are handed a trophy.
‘‘The award is a recognition of the efforts that were put in to come up with a theme that resonates with the changing times,’’ said Sandipan Banerjee of Behala Notun Dal.
Several others said the award has propelled them into making arrangements
about how to carry the idols for the show on Red Road. Some idols are big and need to be decorated separately for the carnival after placing them on trailers.
Senior police officers said a formal invite to join the carnival would be sent to the award winners shortly. The officers in charge of the local police stations will hand the invitations to the organisers, the officers said.
‘‘Since there are 99 award-winning pujas, there may be a last-minute entry to take the final count to 100,’’ the official from the department of information and cultural affairs said.
