Chief minister Mamata Banerjee will start inaugurating Durga pujas on Thursday. This time, virtually.
With doctors advising rest for her injured left leg, the chief minister has decided to go virtual with puja inaugurations.
On Thursday, Mamata will inaugurate some of the big-ticket pujas of north Kolkata: Hatibagan Sarbojonin, Tala Prattoy, Ahiritolla Sarbojonin and Sreebhumi.
A number of pujas in districts, too, will be unveiled on Thursday. A senior official in the information and cultural affairs department said: “The district magistrates and the puja organisers concerned have been informed (about the chief minister’s schedule).
Mamata and the puja organisers will come face to face on a giant LED screen.
The organisers of each puja will get a minute and a half to greet her after the inauguration and a virtual tour of the pandal.
An official said the inaugurations will start at 4pm.
Over the next two days, she will unveil pujas in central and south Kolkata, zone by zone. The big ones in Behala and Haridevpur — for instance, Behala Notun Dal, Barisha Club, 41 Pally and Ajeya Samhati — will be inaugurated on a particular day.
The virtual inauguration, a first for many pujas, will not mark the opening of the gates of the pandals though.
“We will only allow representatives of Unesco and other international guests from Thursday. The actual inauguration will take place on Dwitiya, October 16,” said Saswata Basu, general secretary of the Hatibagan Sarbojonin Durgostav Committee.
This year, 24 crowd-puller community pujas of Kolkata have been selected by Unesco for a “Preview Show” ahead of the main festival. The event, which will be attended by diplomats, art lovers and tourists, began on Wednesday and will continue till October 15.
Several organising committees said that even though the chief minister would formally inaugurate their pujas over the next few days, they will stick to the almanac and wait till Mahalaya (October 14), which marks the end of the Pitri Paksha and the beginning of the Devi Paksha, to open the pandals for general visitors.
“The chief minister will inaugurate our puja virtually on Thursday. We will open the gates of the pandal on Saturday evening. Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldinho will be here on the morning of October 16 as the ambassador of our puja,” said Sujit Bose of Sreebhumi Sporting.
Officials said the chief minister will inaugurate over 800 Durga pujas across 22 districts of Bengal over the next few days. North 24-Parganas tops the list with 57 pujas, followed by South 24-Parganas (50 pujas).
The chief minister suffered the leg injury during her recent visit to Spain. “She has been religiously following doctors’ advice and resting her feet,” said a Trinamul leader.