People’s mandate registered through a dedicated app to choose the ‘best three’ tableau in the Durgapur carnival was quashed by the ‘secret’ juries that kicked off controversy in the town last evening.
Fourteen puja committees took part in this year’s government-backed carnival where an app was floated by the organisers to help the crowd to register their individual choices. Out of the nearly 60,000 crowd that assembled to watch the carnival on Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, 45,157 recorded their opinion.
The Shankarpur community puja received the highest 4,326 votes, followed by Marconi Dakshinpally (4,081) that was followed by Filjhore community puja (3,688). The popular opinion, app-based, did not tally with the government opinion, which declared three committees as ‘champions’ – like Marconi Dakshinpally, Nabaroon Club and Chaturanga puja committee.
The last two are patronised by the chairperson of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation and the chairman of the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority, which kicked off controversy bringing charges of nepotism. Pradip Majumdar, state panchayat minister, present in the event, said, “It’s up to the prerogative of the carnival organisers whether to go by the people’s choice or by the jury they’d selected.” Last year, the jury names were made public, but this year their names were kept secret.
The Fuljhore committee’s tableau displayed the significance of Bengal government’s Aparijata Bill that is aimed to ensure legal actions against atrocities on women. This committee is patronised by Dipankar Laha, administrator of the Durgapur Municipal Corporation. The carnival organisers asked this tableau to vacate at once.