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Time of India
12-08-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Cabinet clears plan for permanent Durga temple complex in West Bengal
KOLKATA: Goddess Durga, among the most revered deities in Bengal, will get a permanent temple complex — Durga Angan — where she can be worshipped round the year. The Bengal cabinet, chaired by CM Mamata Banerjee , has given its nod to the proposal and tasked the tourism dept and Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) to identify a plot and build it. According to tentative plans, hunt for a plot near Kolkata has already begun. 'Unesco has recognised Bengal's Durga Puja as a heritage. In honour of this, the CM has announced the creation of Durga Angan. Hidco and tourism dept will jointly work towards building it. This will be one place where Ma Durga will be worshipped all year round,' power, housing and sports minister Aroop Biswas said after the cabinet meet on Monday. 'The first step will be to ask the state to allot the required land. The budget is yet to be discussed and the exact plan will be worked out now that the necessary approval has come through,' he said. A trust will be established to manage the temple complex and names of the trust members will be announced later, Biswas said., and added that this will be a tourist attraction similar to the Jagannath temple in Digha. The Jagannath temple complex in Digha, built by Hidco, is also run by a trust. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Trinamool seniors said Banerjee was considering setting up the facility closer to the city and had already instructed officials to choose a suitable land. The complex is expected to resemble an open-air museum that will also depict the culture and heritage of Durga Puja. 'Durga Aangan is likely to be a place where anyone can experience the essence of Durga Puja, not merely the religious aspect of it, but also its cultural socio-economic importance,' a senior party functionary said. CM Banerjee had announced a permanent Durga temple from the July 21 Martyrs' Day rally. 'You (BJP) say I don't allow Durga Puja and Saraswati Puja. And now all of a sudden, you have remembered Maa Durga and Maa Kali. Maa Durga is our state and the nation's asset. Durga Puja is a cultural treasure of our country. This festival has been inscribed on Unesco's list of intangible cultural heritage. Just like I built Jagannath Dham, I will build a Durga Aangan in Bengal, where people can visit and experience the colour and essence of Durga Puja throughout the year,' she had said. The announcement had led several political commentators to say that the Trinamool chief was invoking Bengal's most revered deity to cushion BJP's Hindutva politics and drive home the Bengali ethos and culture. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area.
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
New Town set to get parking lot for 1,500 car
1 2 Kolkata: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is scheduled to inaugurate the city's biggest multi-storey car parking complex in New Town on Thursday. The eight-storied ramp-up complex, set up by Hidco, will accommodate about 1,500 cars. The parking complex has been set up on two plots — 117 and 118 — adjacent to the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre. About Rs 135 crore has been spent on constructing the parking complex. As per the plan, each floor will have space to accommodate around 200 cars. There will also be commercial space for retail activity, showrooms, food joints, and display areas on the ground floor. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata With the Silicon Valley and Fintech hub being developed nearby, along with malls, multiplexes, hotels, and other commercial complexes in the commercial business district of New Town, there is already a huge requirement of space to accommodate hundreds of vehicles that are now parked in the 'fee-parking' zones. A traffic study conducted some years back projected that there will be about 10 lakh per day passenger trips in New Town in the near future. At present, over 2,000 vehicles move on the main arterial road or Biswa Bangla Sarani of New Town per hour. Presently, New Town has a few car parking lots at gates 1 and 3 of Eco Park, a parking lot beside Tata Medical Centre, the NKDA parking behind the DCP office and a few others. In adjacent Sector V, there is an eight-storied parking plaza on plot AQ 11 that was set up in 2021, which accommodates about 600 cars. NDITA has decided to set up another parking plaza that could accommodate more than 700 cars in the IT hub.
Time of India
18-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
New Town likely to get 9-acre wildlife conservation park
Kolkata: With an indigenous population of golden jackals and other wildlife, like snakes and monitor lizards , often being spotted in New Town, the govt is considering a plan to develop an urban wildlife forestry conservation park in the township with the aim to preserve such animals to avoid man-animal conflict. Sources from the state secretariat said the Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (Hidco) has earmarked a nine-acre plot near Kadampukur in the border area of New Town Action Area II. The forest department is preparing a concept note on the plan, govt sources said. "The plan is in its preliminary stage. The New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) had earlier proposed to the forest department if a wildlife conservation park could be set up since any new township often displays wildlife to a certain degree, and there is a need for conservation of wildlife. A meeting was recently convened between forest department, Hidco and NKDA officials, where the forest department has primarily shown interest in the proposal," a govt official said. Wildlife conservationists said the administration was on the right track. "It will be a good initiative if such a conservation park is developed, as wildlife like jackals, monitor lizards, and snakes can be conserved, it will prevent man-animal conflict and also save them from road mishaps in the urban setup. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trade Bitcoin & Ethereum – No Wallet Needed! IC Markets Start Now Undo The conservation effort would be more effective if, in the long run, after their numbers increase following breeding, the animals are released in the jungle to rehabilitate them in the natural setup in which they belong," said wildlife conservationist Biswajit Roy Chowdhury. New Town is surrounded by panchayat areas of greater Rajarhat and Bhangar, which still have a considerable number of wildlife. These animals — jackals and monitor lizards — often stray into New Town and come in front of vehicles. Multiple jackals died in road accidents in New Town in the first two months of this year, and 12 injured jackals were rescued. Not only jackals, but both venomous and non-venomous snakes are often spotted in different places of the township, especially during the monsoon, with multiple snakebite deaths reported in 2023. Following this, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) came up with a detailed guideline on snakebite management. There is the forest department's wildlife rescue and transit facility in Salt Lake, where snakes and other wildlife spotted in nearby areas are rescued and brought in before they are released into the jungle. The facility often receives calls from different areas of Salt Lake and New Town for rescuing snakes, including venomous ones, that are spotted. At present, there is also the mini zoo spread over 12.5 acres next to Eco Park, which has animals like spotted and bark deer, zebra, giraffe, and a hippopotamus that were brought in under the animal exchange plan. Hidco has also developed a bird enclosure in New Town, which has become a safe habitat for birds and turtles.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
PIL in Calcutta HC challenges govt funding, operations of Digha Jagannath shrine
Calcutta high court BHUBANESWAR: Amid growing tensions between Odisha and West Bengal over the use of ' Jagannath Dham ' name for the newly consecrated Digha temple, a PIL has been filed in the Calcutta high court challenging the project's funding and operation mechanisms. Advocate Koustav Bagchi's petition, admitted by the division bench of Justices Soumen Sen and Smita Das De, challenges the constitutional validity of govt funding for a religious structure under India's secular framework. The PIL seeks an independent inquiry into why the trust is being allowed to operate from Hidco's office. The petitioner requested the court to direct Hidco and the temple trust to file a report disclosing the true nature and character of Jagannath Dham Sanskriti Kendra/Jagannath Dham Digha and explain the legal basis for the trust's operations from Hidco premises. The petitioner has sought clarity on how the temple trust is accepting donations under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act while operating from the office of Hidco, a public sector undertaking. Questions have been raised about the use of govt funds for constructing what was initially tendered as a 'Sanskrit Kendra', but is now functioning as a temple complex. The PIL has challenged the recruitment of 100 civic volunteers for traffic and crowd management at the Digha temple and sought to quash the recruitment notice issued by the SP of East Midnapore. It questions whether the Bengal govt can legally deploy civic volunteers at what appears to be a private trust property without proper requisition or consent. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Want Lower Bills Without Changing a Thing? elecTrick - Save upto 80% on Power Bill Learn More Undo While Odisha law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan has said the govt would take legal action, if required, to ensure 'Dham' is dropped from the Digha shrine name, legal experts suggested the state has strong grounds for legal recourse because of the cultural and religious significance of Lord Jagannath, with the centuries-old Puri temple being long revered as the original 'Jagannath Dham'. Lawyers said Odisha can approach the Supreme Court under Article 131 of the Constitution.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Kolkata's New Town to get 25-acre entertainment hub: CM Mamata Banerjee
CM Banerjee said the state has received 10 new investment proposals worth Rs 25,000 crore KOLKATA: The state has identified 25 acres of land in New Town to set up an entertainment, technology and creativity hub and make the township a one-stop destination for cultural activities. Hidco, the state's infrastructure development wing, would be implementing the project on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis, Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The site is likely to be located near Eco Park. The centre would be called Biswa Angan in Bengali and its formal name would be International Information Technology and Entertainment Park (IITEC), Banerjee said, hoping that the new facility would be as successful as the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre (also in New Town) and attract big-ticket concerts and other events. The state also plans to have a third convention centre in Siliguri after the two in New Town and Digha. Banerjee also revealed the state had got 10 new investment proposals in steel and other industries worth Rs 25,000 crore. "We have land in Jagal Sundari Karmanagari in Raghunathpur, Durgapur and Panagarh. The state has allotted 10 industrial plots to big industries with the total land allotted being 2,515 acres," she said, projecting a total employment opportunity of around 70,000. There would be shopping malls in all 23 district headquarters, the Bengal CM said. "We will give one acre for each facility. Plots have already been cleared for 11 districts and the process is on for the other 12. There will also be two floors for products made by self-help groups," she added. Fifteen industrial estates and 43 plots had been allotted for MSME investments, Banerjee said, adding Bengal now had 90 lakh MSMEs and over 660 clusters.
