The executive council of Visva-Bharati on Friday unanimously decided to organise the traditional Pous Mela this month after a gap of three years.

Officials said varsity authorities had proposed to organise the event on a small scale compared to the past because of the paucity of time.

"Members, including the respected external member (of the EC), have arrived at a collective consensus in today's meeting that Visva-Bharati is positive and open towards the Mela taking place this year," a statement issued by the Visva-Bharati reads.

"Considering the paucity in time, the Council has also proposed contemplating the possibility of a manageably smaller Mela for this year," it added.

The fair, started by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Maharshi Debendranath in 1894, was stopped in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, Visva-Bharati did not organise the mela citing the pandemic again. Then vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty also cited the lack of infrastructure as one of the reasons for not holding the fair on campus.

Traditionally, the fair is a three-day affair on December 21, 22, or 23 (7th Pous on the Bengali calendar). Over the years, the period of the fair was extended unofficially.

Later, following a set of orders from the National Green Tribunal, the varsity decided to conclude the event within six days.

At Friday's meeting, the EC decided to approach the NGT further for its fresh directives as the event could not be organised in the past three years.

Aminul Huda, the secretary of the Kaviguru Hastashilpa Unnayan Samity, an outfit of artisans in Santiniketan, said they were happy with the varsity's decision. "We are happy with the varsity's decision to resume the fair. However, the NGT had given proper guidelines in 2019 for conducting the fair."