The Bolpur Municipality on Monday wrote to Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor to let them hand over the Pous Mela ground on rent for six days to hold the historic fair this December as the varsity authorities did not show any interest in conducting the festival so far.
The fourday annual Pous Mela traditionally begins around December 23 every year.
“Santiniketan Trust is the official organiser of the Pous Mela and it takes the help of Visva-Bharati as the Trust has no such infrastructure and manpower. The trust also pays Rs 20,000 as rent for the fairground to Visva-Bharati to hold the fair. We are also ready to pay the amount and want to organise the fair by adhering to Covid protocol and norms of the National Green Tribunal,” said Parna Ghosh, the chair¬person of board of administrators of Bolpur Municipality.
Ghosh said the civic body was keen to organise the fair as a large number of locals from artisans to hoteliers benefitted through Pous Mela.
Pous Mela was started by Debendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore, in 1894 in a bid to promote produce of rural Santiniketan including arts and crafts before the urban people.
Last year, the fair was not organised following the Covid situation and the civic body officials said if the Kumbh fair or Gangasagar fair could be organised this time, then why Visva-Bharati was not showing interest in the Pous Mela.
The civic body has also sent a letter to Santiniketan Trust to convey its interest to organise the fair.
“We welcome the move that the Bolpur Municipality has taken to organise the Pous Mela. It is true that the VisvaBharati as an university can’t organise the fair and it would be better if a civic body comes forward to organise it. However, we have to discuss the matter with other members of the Trust,” said Sabujkali Sen, a member of Santiniketan Trust and former acting vicechancellor of VisvaBharati.
VisvaBharati’s acting public relations officer Atig Ghosh, however, refused to comment when asked about the letter. A senior varsity official said the university had no time to think about the fair as a NAAC team would be visiting the varsity on Tuesday.