RG Kar fallout: After puja committees, now theatre group in Bengal rejects state govt’s endowment

Kolkata: After community Durga Puja committees in West Bengal, now a theatre group in Maldah has refused the state government’s monetary donation for organising a theatre fair in the district.

Apart from triggering nationwide protests, the ghastly rape and and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata has already cast a shadow on this year’s Durga Puja celebrations in Bengal with a number of puja committees rejecting the annual state government grant for the purpose, which has been increased from Rs 70,000 to Rs 85,000 per committee this year.

Now with theatre group ‘Malda Somobeta Prayash’ refusing to accept the state government’s donation for a theatre fair in the district, a new dimension has been added to the widespread protests against the R.G. Kar incident.

In a video statement widely-circulated on social media, the theatre group’s chief Saradindu Chakraborty said they had sought donation from the Paschim Banga Natya Akademi for organising a two-day theatre fair in the district on August 31 and September 1, following which they received Rs 50,000 from the state government entity.

“However, whatever happened at R.G Kar was really unfortunate. But even more unfortunate was the blatant attempt to hush up the truth and guard the culprits. So we have taken the decision to return the donation as a mark of protest,” Chakraborty said.

He also said that a written communique in this regard has been sent to the Paschim Banga Natya Akademi, along with the donation cheque.

In place of organising the two-day theatre fair, the group will now hold a street-corner play at English Bazar in Malda district.

To recall, after the Uttarpara Sakti Sangha in Hooghly district became the first to reject the Rs 85,000 annual festival grant given to all the community Durga Puja committees by the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government, an all-women association in the same town turned down the annual dole last Saturday.

As a mark of protest against the R.G. Kar incident, the office-bearers of Bouthan Sangha, an all-women Durga Puja committee in Uttarpara, forwarded a communique to the district administration conveying their decision to reject the state government’s annual festival grant.

The organisers also coined the tagline — ‘Meyer Bichar Din, Mayer Pujo Nijera Bujhe Nebo’ (Give justice to the daughter, we will take care of Mother’s worship).

–IANS