Visva-Bharati’s festival of colours, Basanta Utsav, which coincides with Holi, is not likely to take place this month for the fifth consecutive year as varsity authorities are wary of any damage to the campus, which is a Unesco-recognised world heritage zone.

The festival — introduced by Visva-Bharati founder and Nobel laureate polymath Rabindranath Tagore in the 1920s — did not take place in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid-19. In 2022 and 2023, the varsity administration under the then controversial vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty distanced the institution from the event purportedly to avert the need for managing a huge crowd on campus.

A senior official said this time varsity authorities decided not to hold the event for the fifth consecutive year as any crowd mismanagement could damage heritage buildings and sculptures that are part of the Unesco World Heritage Site.

On September 17 last year, the core campus area, including five houses of Tagore, was added to the site recognised by Unesco.

“Our prime concern is to save the World Heritage tag. It would be next to impossible for us to handle one or two lakh people on a day like Holi with limited infrastructure. We are not sure if the state government can help us this time with police arrangements now that the general election dates are out,” said a senior varsity official.

Ganesh Malik, the acting public relations officer, said no meeting on Basanta Utsav transpired although the festival is barely a week away on March 25.

“Not a single meeting on Basanta Utsav has taken place so far. That is why I can’t confirm if the event will be held,” said Malik.

A senior official, associated with organising the event several times in the past, said "planning and meetings for the Utsav usually begins a month ago".

Basanta Utsav and Pous Mela — in spring and winter — are two Santiniketan events that attract lakhs of tourists and boost the local economy.

After a four-year gap, Pous Mela, which had also been on hold since 2020, was organised this year by the Bengal government with the help of Visva-Bharati.

“We expected that the varsity this time would organise Basanta Utsav too. It is very unfortunate for artisans like us who will face a huge loss this year too,” said Aminul Huda, the secretary of the Kaviguru Hastashilpa Unnayan Samiti, an artisans’ collective in Santiniketan.

The Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association is also in favour of the festival.

“We want Visva-Bharati to organise Basanta Utsav with the help of students, teachers, traders and old-timers of Santiniketan,” said Sudipta Bhattacharyya, the faculty association president.

A varsity official said a small event post-Holi, with limited access to the community, is being mulled.