Kolkata: In Bengal’s Jalpaiguri Kadamtala, Kali Puja organiser at Trinosathi Club has chosen ‘stop female feticide’ theme for the puja pandal this year to draw people’s attention to the adverse sex ratio in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu. The pandal has been put up in contrast to Bengal government's Kanyashree project aimed at well-being of girl child.
Jhunjhunu, some 1,800 kilometers away from Jalpaiguri Kadamtala, has a child sex ratio of less than 850, according to 2011 survey report.
“There are at least 15 districts in Rajasthan which are known as hall of shame because of the low child sex ratio and the practice of female feticide. Since Goddess Kali is the destroyer of evil forces, we have decided to portray our Puja Pandal with ‘stop female feticide’ theme,” Chandan Bhowmik, president of the Puja Committee, said.
Dummies of female fetuses with umbilical cords and dummy blood-soaked hands and snakes have been put up around the pandal to give out a message on the female feticide.
At the entrance, there is a bullock cart which portrays the decade old evil practice of female feticide in parts of Rajasthan. Besides the cart, is a stall to represent the Kanyashree scheme.
The dummy female fetus surrounded by snakes.
‘Kanyashree’ project seeks to improve the status and well-being of girl child, particularly for those from underprivileged families> The girls are given monetary support to help them continue education. Nearly 59,78,923 girls have been enrolled under the ‘Kanyashree’ project so far.
Bhowmik said, “There is a huge lock around the puja pandal which shows that how girls in some parts of India are living in adverse conditions. They don’t have liberty to do what they want to do in life. They are living a life in captivity. Our message through this puja pandal is that Goddess Kali will rescue all these girls.”
There are several motifs of different flowers inside the puja pandal which depicted the need for a safe and healthy environment for girl child.
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