Bidhannagar Mela to be inaugurated on Feb 20; to continue till March 12

Kolkata: Bidhannagar Mela, the popular fair among the people of Salt Lake and its adjacent areas, will be inaugurated on February 20 at Central Park Mela Ground in Salt Lake near Karunamoyee. The mela is known as Bidhannagar Mela Utsav 2024.

The mela, spanning over an area of 1,87,000 sq foot, will be open for people from February 21 and will continue till March 12.

The total number of stalls in the pavilion will be around 631. Besides, there will be various international stalls from countries, including Bangladesh, Turkey, Egypt, Ghana, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Thailand, Myanmar, Balochistan. Apart from this, there will be an amusement park for kids and a separate food zone. Self-Help-Groups (SHGs) and various government departments will also be given separate stalls during the mela.

The use of plastic or thermocol has been banned during the mela. In order to ensure security, there will be 24 hours CCTV monitoring. Apart from this there will be police and medical booths. Various cultural programmes will be held everyday.

According to sources, every year Bidhannagar Mela begins from around the second week of December and concludes in the first week of January. After the Bidhannagar Mela gets over, the Kolkata Book Fair takes place in the same venue.

However, this year due to some administrative issues, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) was unable to organise the fair within the short period of time before the book fair.

It may be mentioned that Bidhannagar Mela which has a nostalgia among the residents of Salt Lake was organised by an NGO during the Left Front regime. After 2011, the fair was organised by the Bidhannagar Municipality. From 2016, BMC since its formation continues to organise the fair at the Central Park Mela Ground. Two years ago, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the Central Park Mela Ground as the dedicated ground to organise International Kolkata Book Fair.