Chandrayaan-3, Anti-Ragging Among Kolkata Durga Puja Themes This Year

As the whole country continues to celebrate Chandrayaan-3's success, a Durga puja committee in Kolkata has decided to design its pandal modelled on lander Vikram which touched down on the lunar south pole on August 23.

Another Puja committee will theme its pandal on the evils of ragging with the message of zero tolerance to such bullying.

Pallir Jubak Brinda Club at Sitaram Ghosh Street in north Kolkata has started work on a jumbo-size Vikram replica which will serve as its pandal.

"Come Pujas and visitors will see Maa Durga sitting in the lander model which will be perched on the ground resembling the lunar surface," a puja committee spokesperson said on Sunday.

He said the organisers will get the puja inaugurated by the father of an ISRO scientist associated with the moon mission.

India scripted history on August 23 when ISRO's ambitious third moon mission Chandrayaan-3's lander module touched down on the lunar surface making it only the fourth country to accomplish the feat and first to reach the uncharted south pole of earth's only natural satellite.

This will be our tribute to ISRO, he said.

In south Kolkata, Naktala Udayan Sangha will theme its pandal on the evils of ragging and how the menace can be eliminated from society.

"We have all been shaken by the death of a Jadavpur University student allegedly due to ragging and physical abuse by seniors. Our puja will highlight the message to prevent any kind of ragging and bullying in educational institutions," Puja committee member Anjan Samaddar said.

A 17-year-old Nadia resident, an under-graduate student of arts in Jadavpur University, died on August 10 after falling off the second-floor balcony of the boys' hostel.  

The student was subjected to intense ragging and alleged physical abuse by his seniors at the hostel a day before his death. 

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