Tragedy at Durga Puja immersion in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal when flash flood sweeps away at least 8 persons

The tragedy occurred along the banks of River Mal in the Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal. It is usual for devotees to gather at the venue of immersion to bid farewell to Goddess Durga and her retinue. They are Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Lord Ganesh, the children of Durga. Normally, such rituals rarely get prominence in the media but this was different. There was flash flood and the flow of water swept away some of the people and left a group of about 30-40 persons stranded in the middle of a river. The district administration rescued them and indicated that the deceased persons included an eight-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl while the other six included three women. In addition, fifteen injured people required hospitalization. 2 children among 8 drowned in flash floods during Durga Puja immersion at Jalpaiguri in Bengal. The District Magistrate mentioned that there was no local prediction of rainfall. However, suddenly the water in the river rose, probably due to rainfall in higher areas like Sikkim.

The district administration suspended immersion at the spot where flash floods occurred and undertook rescue operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the incident. His office took to the social media to send condolences to those who lost their loved ones. A local political leader said - “Thousands had gathered on the banks of the river and suddenly the water rose. People had no time to rush to higher ground. Many were swept away.” Even though there has been little rain in the area for the last few days, there were reports of heavy downpour in the higher reaches and in the Bhutan hills. Incidentally, the Mal River originates in the hills, and the water accumulated in the higher reaches owing to the heavy rain there caused the flash flood. This river merges with the Teesta River in the region.

Some popular stories of this blogger –

Death of over 65s in England highest in summer 2022 compared to 2004 due to heatwaves

America imposes fresh sanctions on North Korea after it conducts more ballistic missile tests

Durga Puja 2022 is over and the mega carnival will bring down the curtains

Massacre of children in Thailand in a knife and gun rampage, condolences pour in

President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan wants to achieve self-sufficiency in defense

Mamata Banerjee plays the dhak to begin the Durga Puja festivities

Hurricane Ian flattens portions of the coast of Florida, wash away homes

It is festival time in Kolkata with Navratri and Durga Puja

US Vice President Kamala Harris on a visit to South Korea and will visit the Demilitarized Zone DMZ also

It is festival time in Kolkata with Navratri and Durga Puja

West Bengal and its capital Kolkata are famous for the large-scale, opulent pujas. The organizers work night and day to present artistic creations that attract people from not just different parts of Bengal and from all over the country, but even globally. This has been made possible because of the recognition accorded by UNESCO in 2021. It has granted recognition in the form of Heritage Status to 'Durga Puja in Kolkata.' This is inscribed in its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Those who plan a trip to Kolkata during the festival can expect memorable experiences of gorging on yummy food, praying to Goddess Durga, pandal hopping, and loving every bit of the festivities. These are what Durga puja is all about. Eat, pray, love! 5 things to do while visiting Kolkata during Durga Puja 2022; visit THESE top 20 pandals. It has to be remembered that pandal hopping translates into crowds and hot and humid surroundings. It is better to wear comfortable footwear because you might have to walk long distances and remain in queue for a long time to get a darshan of the idols and the magnificent pandals.

There is a craze among some people to visit 'Bonedi bari' puja. These are family pujas dating back to centuries and involve aristocratic households. There is no commercialization and they do not go in for glamor and glitz of the baroyari pujas. The number of such families is few and the uniqueness is that on this annual festival, members of the family come together from far corners of the world. These turn out to be unforgettable homecomings. Of course, food lovers enjoy street foods, sweets and eating out at the city's famous restaurants. From fuchka (or the gol gappa or pani puri) to jhal muri (puffed rice with special spices) and the famous Kolkata roll – the list is a long one. In many restaurants, food lovers may have to wait in queues for their turn.

Durga Puja from outside India and within –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tourist hotels in Puri, Darjeeling and Digha –

GosaniYatra or The Durga Puja of Puri

Darjeeling hotels brim with tourists

How Can You Enjoy Durga Puja At Affordably Priced Hotel In Digha?

Some popular stories of this blogger –

US Vice President Kamala Harris on a visit to South Korea and will visit the Demilitarized Zone DMZ also

Life of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after the era of Queen Elizabeth II

Shoppers enjoy last minute Puja shopping in Gariahat, New Market and Hatibagan

Typhoon Noru strikes Vietnam, hundreds evacuated from popular beach resort city of Da Nang

Hurricane Ian struck the western tip of the island, left millions of Cubans without power and is headed towards Florida

Shooting incident in school in Russia kills at least 17, injures another 24 - gunman takes his own life

Curd based delicious foods like mishit doi, boondi raita and lassi

Freight train services resume between North Korea and China after a brief suspension due to pandemic

Durga Puja and senior citizens of Kolkata

Kolkata gears up for Durga Puja rush with special buses for shoppers

The government of West Bengal wants people to forget the woes of Covid and its restrictions that had strangled businesses for 2 years. This year the focus is on enjoying the goodies that any festival can offer. In order to satisf ay the transportation needs of the common man the West Bengal government has introduced a special bus. The intention is to satisfy the desire for shopping spree that the festivities demand. This will help the shoppers to move about and give a push to the shopping. The special bus will operate in the commercial district of the city as announced by West Bengal's minister of transport. He said the buses would be available from September 4 through September 25. This will include weekends and public holidays. These would cover the commercial districts of Gariahat, Shyambazar, and Esplanade. Moreover, between 12 PM and 9 PM, there will be special air conditioned buses throughout the commercial areas of Kolkata. Other routes to be covered would be from places like Esplanade and Howrah to other destinations in all directions. Durga Puja 2022: Kolkata launches special shopping buses for Durga Puja season till September 25.

An official of the West Bengal Transport Department explained that the action of introducing special buses for Durga Puja shoppers was taken after the outbreak of pandemic had put a brake on the festivities in the city. The Covid since 2020 prohibited people from enthusiastically celebrating Durga Pujo. However, this year there are indications that things are much better. In view of the changed scenario, the transport department is taking action to support this. These special shopping buses will be parked in areas where people can utilize the service as a hop-on-hop-off in retail areas. There will not be any additional fees for individuals who use the service.

Durga Puja from outside India and within –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tourist hotels in Puri, Darjeeling and Digha –

GosaniYatra or The Durga Puja of Puri

Darjeeling hotels brim with tourists

How Can You Enjoy Durga Puja At Affordably Priced Hotel In Digha?

Some popular stories of this blogger –

China grows rice and vegetables on the Tiangong space station

The summer of 2022 was hottest on record in England and it tied with 2018

Second successive loss of India in Asia Cup 2022 – this time to Sri Lanka

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern China and left at least 65 dead

A mass stabbing incident in Canada left ten people dead and at least 15 others injured

Liz Truss, the current foreign minister, will become the next prime minister of Britain

Pakistan got the better of India in Dubai at their second Asia Cup 2022 contest

Catastrophic floods devastate Pakistan with death toll nearly 1300, hundreds of thousands of people are living in relief camps

Bengal appears to be a state where a fish trader turns out to be a another crorepati

Mamata Banerjee expresses gratitude to UNESCO for awarding Cultural Heritage tag to Kolkata’s Durga Puja

Kolkata witnessed an unusual rally. The people of the city usually have to endure rallies of political parties but this was an exception. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee headed it. The purpose was to express gratitude to UNESCO for including Kolkata’s Durga Puja on the intangible cultural heritage representative list. The chief minister had renowned cricketer Sourav Ganguly alongside her on the stage and they greeted the UNESCO representatives who were present on the occasion. The rally included not only Kolkata but also each district of West Bengal. Among the participants were women drummers of South 24 Parganas to religious and cultural groups (Bauls) of Birbhum. The rally originated from Jorasanko Thakur Bari (House of Rabindranath Tagore) in Kolkata and culminated at Red Road ‘Durga Puja is Celebrated by All’: Mamata Thanks UNESCO for Recognising Festival at Kolkata Rally. The chief minister thanked the UNESCO representatives who had come. She said, “….. About Rs 40 crore business takes place during the Durga Puja, and this support from UNESCO will give a big boost to us…..”

Sourav Ganguly also expressed happiness and said Durga Puja is “beyond imagination”. He admitted about traveling to different parts of the world and said he had never seen such festivity anywhere. He thanked UNESCO about giving the festival due recognition. The TMC government also felicitated Professor Tapati Guha Thakurtha for her efforts to put Bengal’s Durga Puja in the UNESCO list.

Durga Puja from outside India and within –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Tourist hotels in Puri, Darjeeling and Digha –

GosaniYatra or The Durga Puja of Puri

Darjeeling hotels brim with tourists

How Can You Enjoy Durga Puja At Affordably Priced Hotel In Digha?

Some popular stories of this blogger –

Jilebi and Vada-pau make it to a list of 50 of the best street foods in Asia

Maddox Square puja returns in all its glory after two years due to Covid-19

The Midwest and the South of the U.S. faced severe storms, damaging winds, heavy rains and flash floods

Greenland is losing ice at a fast rate with global sea level rise

Meghan Markle says she and her husband were "happy" to leave the UK

NASA enters second phase of going to the Moon after 50 years

It is easy to mint millions in Bengal if one knows the ropes and has the right contacts

Warships of the U.S. enter the Taiwan Strait, adds to tension in the region

India and Pakistan meet in Dubai for Asia Cup 2022

Out of more than 20,000 Durga Pujas in West Bengal, some are hundreds of years old

It is difficult to believe that there are more than 20,000 Durga Pujas held in West Bengal. Durga Puja 2022: Big Plans in Bengal after UNESCO Heritage Tag, Covid Lull Out of these, many are hundreds of years old. The celebration of this festival of Bengal is usually on a large scale. Each year, the state government provides donations to the puja organizing clubs and plans to do that this year as well. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced a grant of Rs 60,000 for each puja to make it a success. Last two years, it was subdued because of restrictions put in place to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, with ease of protocols, the administration is planning a mega celebration. This is all the more important in view of the Cultural Heritage tag of UNESCO that the celebrations won last year.

The Mondal Bari Puja at Shyamdaspur in Bankura district has been celebrating Durga Puja in their ancestral home here for more than 500 years now. Its origin dates back to much before the city of Kolkata originated. It began as a private family affair and over a period has attracted people from far-off places and become an annual event for devotees and tourists. The joint family has disintegrated into fragments and members have moved to different corners of the country in search of livelihood. They try to return to their ancestral home during the pujas. Some other age-old pujas are given below –

1 Sabarna Roy Chowdhury Aatchala Durga – in 1626
2. Behala Jagat Ram Mukherjee Durga Puja – in 1769
3. Behala Roy Family Durga Puja - in 1756
4. Bhukailash Rajbari - in 1782
5. Sovabazar Raj Bari Durga Puja - in 1757
6. Pathuriaghata Khelat Ghosh Durga Puja - almost 170 years old
7. Purna Chandra Dhar Family Durga Puja - 157 years ago
8. Jhamapukur Chandra Family Durga Puja - in 1761
9. Badan Chandra Roy Family Durga Puja - year 1857
10. Ramgopal Saha Bari Durga Puja – 175 years old
11. Bagbazar Haldar Bari Durga Puja - in the year 1560
12. Shib Krishna Daw Family Durga Puja - in 1840
13. Narasingha Daw Family Durga Puja - in 1859
14. Laha Family Durga Puja - over two centuries old
15. Madan Mohan Dutta family Durga Puja - from 1794 AD
16. Chhatu Babu Latu Babu’s Durga Puja - in 1770
17. Maniktala Saha Family Durga Puja - almost 150 years old
18. Ghose Family Durga Puja of Ghose Lane - in 1856
19. Pataldanga Basu Mallick Family Durga Puja - in 1831
20. Thanthania Dutta Family Durga Puja - in 1855

These are based on Bonedi Bari Durga Puja in Kolkata (Updated in 2020 with Maps)

Durga Puja from outside India –

13 Best Durga Puja in London UK 2022

14 Best Durga Puja in New York USA 2022

2022 Durga Puja Calendar for Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Some popular stories in this and related sites –

Flash flood in Afghanistan kills at least 95, sweeps away thousands of homes

Prince William and Kate shifting from Kensington Palace to Adelaide Cottage with their children

CM of Bengal announces 11 days holiday for Bengalis to celebrate Durga Puja 2022 in a big way

The US and South Korea begin their joint military exercises in view of North Korean nuclear threat

Woman goes missing in flash floods near the Temple of Sinawava at Zion National Park in Utah

Durga Puja and a trip to the sea beach of Digha

Japan wants to promote new concepts related to drinking and marriage in order to revive its economy

Unidentified gunmen stormed a hotel in Mogadishu and killed at least 20

Society is in peril when leaders use unparliamentarily language in public

West Bengal’s industry-friendliness at a low

In the latest analysis of industrial friendliness in the country, Gujarat stands at the No 1 position while West Bengal languishes at the 11th position. This, in spite of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s trips to Singapore and London to woo investors apart from holding Bengal Leads events. Needless to say, she did have crowds but not the investments.
It is a fact that the industrial climate in the state had soured up over a period of time because of problems like load shedding and labor unrest and, while the load shedding did come within control, industries, unable to cope up with regular agitation by labor unions, fled from the state. The fingers of accusation were pointed towards the left front which was in power in the state for over three decades. Bandhs were the order of the day and, coupled with the pathetic condition of infrastructure and commination, investors avoided West Bengal.

However, finally, West Bengal decided to make a new start and bring back industries to the state. It was expected that Tata Motors, with its Nano small car project, would be the magic wand to revive industrialization in West Bengal. And – for a project of such a huge magnitude, the important factor was land.
Well – that was also done in Singur and it was felt that the factory, along with ancillary industries, would help the state to recover. Tata Motors had arranged to train the youth so that they could get absorbed in the factory once production started. The locals also were hopeful that the factory would allow them to prosper in their own ways – like small time shopkeepers, tea stalls, and markets.
Their needs were not much but Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand leader, put a spoke in the wheels of change – as a result Nano, like other industries, fled to Gujarat and, today Gujarat has captured the top spot that could have been Bengal’s. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

Some more interesting 'must reads'-

City of Jinan to eliminate all dogs even if they are registered pets and vaccinated

Two foreign tourists killed as Kalka-Shimla toy train derails

Molesters flee bleeding from the clutches of a karate girl in Barasat, West Bengal


Ringo Starr, Beatles drummer, bemoans the decline in the music industry

Lindsay Lohan fails to keep her date with Toronto Film Festival

Kangana Ranaut in Paris for ‘Queen’ hates actors endorsing fairness creams


This is the age of drone warfare - pick and eliminate the jihadists from miles away

RAF readies to strike ISIS in Syria to check flow of refugees into Europe

Russia’s game plan not clear – it sends Pantsir-S missile system to Syria


Bengalis are a politically conscious lot

Rasgulla, the juice-dripping sweet that Bengalis swear by

Bengalis are daydreamers tied to mothers’ apron strings