On instructions from state chief minister Mamata Banerjee the Birbhum district administration has geared up to organise an alternative Poush Mela this year in Santiniketan. Few days ago, both the Visva-Bharati University (VBU) and Santiniketan Trust, in a joint statement had announced cancellations of Poush Mela for the fourth consecutive year citing paucity of time to organise the mega event. Local people and traders have demonstrated outside the central office of VisvaBharati University.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee instructed the district administration to organise an alternative Poush Mela in Santiniketan. Bidhan Roy, district magistrate of Birbhum and Chandranath Sinha, MSME and textiles minister, both presided over a high-level meeting held at the office of SDM of Bolpur in which Kajal Sheikh, sabhadhipati of Birbhum zilla parishad, MLA Abhijit Singha, ASP of Bolpur, Surajit Kumar Dey, SDPO (Bolpur), Nikhil Agarwal, district information and cultural officer (DICO), Aritra Chakraborty, members of Santiniketan Trust, Sriniketan Santiniketan Development Authority, Bolpur Municipality, WBPCB, Bolpur Traders Association, Bangla Sanskriti Mancha etc were present.

In the meeting, it has been decided that the district administration will seek the Purbapally Ground to organise the Poush Mela from the Visva-Bharati University (VBU), said Bidhan Roy, DM of Birbhum. “If we get the ground the alternative Poush Mela will be organised at the Purbapally Ground, otherwise the Poush Mela will be organised at the Dak Bungalow ground,” he added. For the last two years, the state government has been organising the alternative Poush Mela at the Daj Bungalow ground.

The Birbhum DM, Bidhan Roy further said that the alternative Poush Mela will be organised by the district administration from 24 December (7th Poush) and for that preparations have already started. The alternative Poush Mela preparation will go on in war footing in the coming days, said Birbhum zilla parishad sources. All the stakeholders have decided to work together to organise the alternative fair successfully