Kolkata: The city police on Tuesday claimed they had disbursed Durga Puja grant to over 80% of the pujas that had applied for it. “Around 2,900 puja organisers in Kolkata have applied for the grant of Rs 85,000 each. Already, the funds have been disbursed to 2,400 organisers,” said Joint CP (headquarter) Meeraj Khalid.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that around 50,000 pujas across the state had opted to avail of the grant.
Banerjee was speaking at the inauguration of cultural functions at Sreebhumi on Tuesday.
Some Kolkata-based organizers, including a few in Salt Lake, one each in Metiabruz and Netaji Nagar and two at Behala, have refused the funds. Local police stations said those who were yet to get the grant were ones who had applied late.
Lalbazar has asked police stations to ensure that there is no subscription-related extortion. The instructions came amid claims of a puja organizer from the Panchasayar-Garia area pressuring locals to pay higher puja subscription compared to last year. Local cops said they had not receives a complaint yet.