Didi faces anger over Durga puja permission

At a time when political circuits in New Delhi are abuzz with the Kerala House row over buffalo meat, a remote village in West Bengal's Birbhum district has a completely different story to tell.

Also Read: Congress Muslim leader bats for Durga puja at NHRC

A puja committee that is seeking a go-ahead from the district administration for consecutive three years to organise a Durga puja at Kangla Pahari village under Nalhati police station is repeatedly being denied permission following objections by a few Muslim families in the village. Read: This Muslim man has been organising Durga Puja in Raigarh since 23 years

The local administration, panchayat and the police jointly prevented the puja organisers from getting sanction, sources said. The incident came to light post Durga puja after the organizers knocked on the doors of the district administration. Kangla Pahari is a Hindu-dominated village located near Bengal-Jharkhand border under Rampurhat sub-division. There are about 350 Hindu families residing in Kangla Pahari, that also houses 20 Muslim households.

"We have a clear instruction from the state government not to issue any fresh permission for Durga Puja. We are only giving permission to those who have been doing it for years. This puja committee has failed to comply with the preliminary requisition," Rampurhat sub-divisional officer (SDO) Supriyo Das, who is the sanctioning authority for new pujas in the area, told Mail Today.

According to sources, the villagers of Kangla Pahari had decided to start a Durga puja three years ago. They had approached Mohanlal Sau, who donated land for making a Durga temple in the village. A makeshift temple was made of mud and the villagers started making Durga idols there. They had approached the local police station and district administration for permission but it was negated by the authorities (Rampurhat SDO).

"The ruling TMC is playing dirty communal politics. Durga puja is not just a Hindu festival. It has universal appeal. There is no question of issuing fresh permission. There is already a temple there on a private land," said BJp state unit president Rahul Sinha. Sinha said that the state government was indulging in minority appeasement and resorting to vote bank politics. The Hindu population is becoming victim of this appeasement. The BJP president said that the villagers of Kangla Pahari are now mulling over moving to the High Court with the issue.