The Bengal government has decided to relax the ongoing night curfew on March 17, ahead of Doljatra and Holi to enable devotees to observe the ritual of Holika Dahan.
The notification released on Thursday stated that the restrictions relating to the movement of people and vehicles from 12pm to 5am shall be relaxed on the night of March 17.
On March 4, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, MP, wrote to Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee asking for night curfew relaxations on the night of March 17.
The Bengal chief minister complied with Bandyopadhyay’s request and wrote back to him.
The parliamentarian uploaded a photograph of the CM’s letter and thanked her on social media saying, “Thank you to our honourable CM @MamataOfficial for always being with their people and bringing in consideration a very important notice for coming 'Holi Ka Dahan' on the eve of Holi Utsav.
The WB government has allowed night curfew realxation on 17th March 2022 for Holi Dahan.”
Doljatra falls on March 18 and Holi on March 19 this year.
Holika Dahan is a Hindu ritual that symbolises the victory of good over evil, reminiscing the legend of Prahlad and his aunt Holika, who tried to burn him but failed. Holika Dahan, which is generally observed by the non-Bengali community, also has a Bengali counterpart called Burir Ghor Porano.
Although the curfew has been lifted on the night between March 16 and 17, the ritual of Holika Dahan is supposed to be celebrated on the night between March 18 and 19 this year. The Bengali counterpart Burir Ghor Porano is supposed to be held on the night between March 17 and March 18.