West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday slammed the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government for allegedly banning the celebration of Holi at Sonajuri Haat in Santiniketan, stating the state police was playing "appeasement politics".
The West Bengal government imposed restrictions citing concerns over potential damage to the area's greenery in the popular marketplace located near Visva Bharati University's Santiniketan campus, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Bolpur division forest officer Rahul Kumar said there is a ban on the parking of vehicles and the celebration of the Holi festival in the Haat. The DFO added that the gathering can cause irreparable damage to the vegetation due to the splashing of coloured water.
Opposition leader Adhikari decried the "ban", stating this was the first time that such a thing was happening in West Bengal. "The police, administration and the state government are doing divisive politics and politics of appeasement," he said, adding that the Additional SP of Birbhum said that the Dol festival in Santiniketan must be over by 10 am. "This kind of political division is going on in Bengal," he said.
#WATCH | Kolkata | West Bengal's MoS for Forest and MoS for Consumer Affairs Birbaha Hansda says, "We have not banned Holi (in Santiniketan); we had requested the people to secure the environment. When people play Holi - it contains chemicals that may harm trees... I would… pic.twitter.com/W6A8bEJ3Es
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2025
However, after the decision stoked controversy, MoS for Consumer Affairs Birbaha Hansda said there was no such ban. "Instead, she specified that it is merely a request for people to help protect the environment," she added. "We have not banned Holi (in Santiniketan); we had requested the people to secure the environment. When people play Holi - it contains chemicals that may harm trees... I would request all those who are doing politics over the issue, the situation of every place is different," Hansda said.
Earlier, the Visva-Bharati University said Holi celebrations cannot be allowed on the campus, a UNESCO heritage site.
This is the first time the forest department has imposed such restrictions on Sonajhuri Haat, which has become the hub of the Dol festival since 2019, after the Visva-Bharati authorities stopped the 'Spring Festival'.
