Kolkata: MOS for information and cultural affairs Indranil Sen on Wednesday launched the Biswa Bangla puja award for 2024.
Speaking about the puja carnival, Sen said it has been one of the major crowd-pullers for the past couple of years. This year, the carnival is set to be held on Oct 15.
“The Bengal govt has already received applications from around 50,000 puja organisers for the grant.
So, it matters little if 15 or 16 puja organisers are unwilling to take the grant as they now have the budgetary provision. Now, we can accommodate some puja committees who are in need of the money instead,” Sen said.
Sen said clubs can apply for various categories of awards, including best puja, best idea, best lighting, best idol, best pandal, best social awareness and best environment-friendly puja. There will also be awards for best dhakis, best branding of Biswa Bangla and the Serar Sera award.
The committees can apply to participate till Sept 30.
After inputs that some people might try to create trouble at the carnival by demonstrating during the event, a meeting was held at Nabanna to ensure that the event can be hosted without any hassle.