West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday took out a vibrant rally to thank United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for according the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) tag to Durga Puja. The rally, that began in the Jorasanko area in north Kolkata, was attended by scores of people, including devotees, Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo's supports and representative of over 100 Durga Puja committees.
Several TMC leaders such as Firhad Hakim, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Aroop Biswas and Shashi Panja took part in the rally which will conclude at Red Road. In the rally, several attendees were seen playing 'dhak', flute, singing puja songs and dancing. Many such rallies were also organised in other districts of West Bengal.
Watch The Rally Below:
"I would like to thank UNESCO for according ICH tag to Durga Puja. From today onwards, our festivities have begun one month in advance. I welcome people from all walks of life to participate in the rally, and thank everyone watching this rally from around the world," Banerjee said, while inaugurating the rally.
After the rally reaches Kolkata's Red Road, the Chief Minister will hand over an earthen idol of Goddess Durga to the representatives of UNESCO. epresentatives of at least 1,200 renowned Durga Pujas in Kolkata, Howrah and Salt Lake took part in the rally dressed in traditional Bengali outfits, news agency PTI reported.
Earlier in the day, the TMC supremo took to Twitter and said that Durga Puja as an emotion of the Bengalis that unites people above the "parochial barriers". "Durga Puja is an emotion that rises above parochial barriers and brings us together. It unites the magnificence of art with spirituality. We thank UNESCO for recognising Durga Puja as an intangible cultural heritage and honouring the labour of love of everyone involved," she tweeted.
"Kolkata's Durga Puja has been accorded the 'Intangible Cultural Heritage Tag' by UNESCO, which is a proud moment for all of us. In order to celebrate the honour bestowed on our Durga Puja, we have organised a mega rally on September 1. Our Durga Utsav, this year, is starting a month ahead. We will all get together and thank UNESCO. Everyone is invited to be part of the rally, which will begin at 2 pm from Jorasanko Thakurbari," Banerjee said on Wednesday.
All Major Roads Blocked In Central Kolkata
In view of the mega rally, all major roads in Central Kolkata were blocked since morning. Kolkata Police have informed that Bhupen Bose Avenue, JM Avenue, Central Avenue, Vivekananda Road, K K Tagore Street, M G Road, BB Ganguly Street, G C Avenue, S N Banerjee Road, Lenin Sarani, Mayo Road, Outram Road, RR Avenue, JL Nehru Road, Dufferin Road, Hospital Road, Lovers lane, New Road, Kidderpore Road, Esplanade Row, Esplanade Ramp have been closed due to the rally, Indianexpress.com reported.
The traffic on these aforementioned areas were reportedly diverted to arterial and feeder roads.