The award ceremony of The Telegraph Salt Lake Super Souvenir 2020 took place last week and like most events during the pandemic, it was online.
The contest awards the Durga Puja souvenirs that are published by committees in Salt Lake, New Town and neighbouring areas.
Prize winners young and old logged in, interacted with one another and delivered their acceptance speeches over their computers and phones. Certificates had been sent to the winners beforehand. The date of the ceremony was carefully chosen too — August 12 marked the 16th anniversary of The Telegraph Salt Lake.
Joining the show as chief guest was Debashis Sen, managing director of Housing and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) and chairman of New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). “Whenever I read The Telegraph Salt Lake I mentally calculate how many pages are devoted to Salt Lake and New Town. You see, my work entails New Town but I am a resident of CE Block in Salt Lake. So actually it’s a win-win for me either way,” he shared with the audience. “We are all interested in local news and this supplement informs us about our neighbours. It unites the twin townships.”
Also joining the meeting was Dhruba Mukherjee, CEO of ABP. “This is the first digital meet for a physical award by The Telegraph Salt Lake,” he noted. “This contest has been going strong over the years because of the robust participation it gets and the enthusiasm of residents to keep literature alive.”
Amitabha Dutta, director, Calcutta Media Institute, an ABP initiative and a resident of FE Block, congratulated the winners and hoped it would be possible to organise an in-person ceremony next year.
saltlake@abp.in
