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Awards for Durga Puja Committees Making Festivals Accessible to Everyone

Newzdaddy Religious Updates

A special event is happening in Kolkata, organized by NIP NGO, which stands for ‘National Institute of Professionals.’ They help blind and differently-abled people. They are joining hands with Forum for Durgotsab, Saini International School, Mamta Sumit Binani Foundation, and Rotary Club of Calcutta Old City to give awards to Durga Puja committees that make their Pandals, where they celebrate the festival, accessible and friendly for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Around 300 Durga Puja Committees are taking part in this.

They are also promoting something called ‘Onno Durga,’ which is all about creating awareness. It’s a concept where they want to show Goddess Durga and Asur, who is usually depicted as a demon, in a different way. They’ve also added a wheelchair-bound Lord Ganesh, and characters like Laxmi, Saraswati, and Kartik with intellectual disabilities. The message here is that people with disabilities have unique abilities, and they should be included in all the fun during Durga Puja.

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The event had some important people attending, like Sri. Sovandeb Chattopadhyay, who is the Agriculture Minister of West Bengal, and many other respected personalities. They are all supporting this effort to make Durga Puja more inclusive.

CS (Dr.) Adv. Mamta Binani, who is the Chief Patron of NIP NGO, and President of MSME Development Forum WB, said, “We’re doing this unique event to create awareness. We want to show that people with disabilities are special, and they should be a part of everything, especially during Durga Puja when we celebrate strength. In the past, we’ve created things like a Braille Durga Puja Guide to help blind people.”

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Sri. Sayan Deb Chatterjee, Joint Secretary of Hazra Park Durgotsab Committee, added, “Usually, Puja awards are given for things like how beautiful the decorations are. But now, they’re also looking at how well they make the festival accessible for people with physical challenges. We need to remember that while Durga Puja is a big festival for West Bengal, it should be enjoyed by everyone, including those who are differently-abled and senior citizens.”

Sri. Tapan Pattanayak, CEO of Saini Group, mentioned, “We’re glad to be part of this noble cause. People with disabilities and senior citizens often couldn’t join in the fun because of the crowded places. This is changing now.”

They are an Education and Cultural Center that helps blind and differently-abled people. They won a State Award in 2012 and have been organizing awareness campaigns and events to support blind and differently-abled people. They’ve even organized chess and cricket tournaments for the blind.