Kolkata roads are getting bright colours for the BJP government’s first Puja celebrations. Minister Agnimitra Paul said, "This represents the road of love and brotherhood." While the city looks festive with new art, the Opposition called the beautification a waste of taxpayers' money and criticised the government for misplaced priorities.
From roads and intersections to flyovers and bridges - Kolkata is being adorned with colours of all hues and shades this Puja. Patches of black tarred roads now look like slices of rainbow, with red, pink, yellow and orange lanes, while the city's busy crossings have turned into floral motifs.
The new BJP government in West Bengal is busy beautifying the Capital. Cabinet Minister Agnimitra Paul was seen on Sunday making alpona, the traditional art of painting the floors and walls with rice flour, at the busy Park Circus Crossing.
"This represents the road of love and brotherhood. This shows the trust people have in us after they brought us to power with a huge mandate," Paul, who is in charge of the Urban Development and Municipal Affairs departments, was heard saying after making the alpona at Park Circus Crossing.
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The artwork beneath the Park Circus connector is among the prominent elements of the beautification drive, which also covers Gariahat bridge and the Garia More junction. Paul said similar work had been undertaken at Red Road, while the ghats along the Hooghly were also being decorated ahead of the festival. "If time permits, we will also decorate the Rashbehari and Park Street crossings," she said.
This is BJP government's first Durga Puja, and it is leaving no stone unturned to make it grand and colourful. On Mahalaya, which precedes the 10-day-long festival, the government had organised a mega event to mark the advent of Puja at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium. There were fireworks, laser shows, and cultural performances.
However, the Opposition Congress and the Left Front are not impressed with the government's beautification drive, calling it a waste of taxpayers' money and "misplaced priorities".
"They are doing drama with people's tax money. This has to be stopped," state Congress president Subhankar Sarkar told The Indian Express. "A minister's work is to provide services and make plans for the city's development. This drama will finish the state and the country," he added.
CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty described it as the BJP government's misplaced priority. "Is it being done with BJP's own money or the taxpayers' money? Are they getting funding from elsewhere? If taxpayers' money is being used, it should be for education and employment. That should be the priority. If it isn't, then it is unfortunate," Chakraborty told The Indian Express.
Neither Mamata Trinamool Congress MLA Kunal Ghosh nor party spokesperson Pradeepta Mukherjee responded to the calls. In the previous TMC government, chief minister Mamata Banerjee painted the city blue. All government buildings, flyovers, roadside railings and even taxis were painted light blue. Mamata, in fact, had vowed to transform Kolkata into a London, something her opponents have scoffed at.