Darjeeling limped back to normalcy today after a 104-day crippling shutdown but the usual vibrancy in the run-up to Dashain, one of the most important festivals in the region, was missing.
Gorkha Janmukti Morcha leader Bimal Gurung had on Wednesday said the strike in the hills would be called off at 6 am on Wednesday, a few hours after Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a meeting within a fortnight to "discuss all related issues".
Source: The Telegraph
The ‘41 Pally’ Durga Puja committee in south Kolkata has opted to send messages of “peace and harmony” through its pandal this year. Selecting ‘Amra Manobikotay’ (we are for humanity) as its theme, the committee has been drawing a large number of visitors to its pandal. Instead of holding weapons to kill demons, here Durga is seen holding the hands of children and standing over a huge stockpile of arms.
Source: The Indian Express
For the residents of a hamlet in East Midnapore's Galsi, Durga Puja is not an occasion for celebration and there has been no puja for the villagers since 1883.
The residents of Babla – a hamlet of 950-odd families and around 130km from Calcutta – have been afraid of hosting a puja in the village after three deaths of the principal organisers on all three occasions that a puja was attempted.
"It could not have been a coincidence. They were all healthy young men. Maybe, the goddess does not want us to have her puja. It is our misfortune, but there is nothing we can do about it," said Joya Panja, a homemaker from the village.
Source: The Telegraph
The rain gods blessed the city this afternoon and cooled down the atmosphere, much to the delight of pandal-hoppers.
The sky was overcast since morning on Saptami. The cotton clouds typical of autumn and Puja were missing. The rain came down around afternoon, in varying intensity for about 15-20 minutes.
But that was enough to bring the mercury level down by more than two notches to 34.3 degrees Celsius.
Source: The Telegraph
A fire broke out at a wooden utility manufacturing unit at Ultadanga area in north Kolkata this afternoon, a Fire Brigade official said.
There was no injury to anyone in connection with the incident, he said.
Source: The Times of India
The Durga Puja organisers at the beach resort of East Midnapore's Digha have made arrangements for tourists to offer anjali at mandaps on Puja days.
Some of the organisers are going around making announcement over the public address system inviting tourists to their puja pandals to offer the anjali.
Source: The Telegraph
Tour operators in the Darjeeling hills have started contacting their counterparts in other parts of India in a bid to bring visitors to the region ahead of Diwali following the withdrawal of the general strike.
The strike that stretched over 100 days had taken its toll on the tourism industry which is the backbone of Darjeeling's economy.
The withdrawal of the strike in the middle of the Puja festivities has raised hopes among the tourism stakeholders that some tourists could still be brought to the hills ahead of Diwali.
Source: The Telegraph
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