The forest department has imposed a ban on Basanta Utsav, which coincides with Holi, in Sonajhuri forest near Santiniketan.
The ruling Trinamul Congress councillors had been organising this festival of colours in Sonajhuri for the past two years after Visva-Bharati rescheduled its annual event to a different date to avoid large crowds and tourists inside the campus.
“Forest laws don’t permit such practices, including playing with colours or amassing large crowds in any forest area in our country. Therefore, we cannot allow any group to hold such an event in the Sonajhuri forest. If anyone attempts to organise such an event without our permission, we will take legal action against them,” said Rahul Kumar, the divisional forest officer in Birbhum.
Visva-Bharati stopped allowing outsiders to participate in Basanta Utsav after a near-stampede situation in 2019 when over three lakh people had crowded the campus to attend the festival.
This year, the varsity will organise the event on Monday on a small-scale. Only its students, staff and alumni will attend the event, continuing with the varsity’s decision to avoid large-scale public gatherings for the sixth year on the trot.
The festival — introduced by Visva-Bharati founder and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in the 1920s — was not held in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2022 and 2023, the varsity distanced itself from the event, reportedly to avoid the challenges of managing large crowds on campus.
Last year, Trinamul organised a “mega” festival similar to Basanta Utsav
to attract thousands of tourists who traditionally visit the varsity town during
the festival.
However, several environmentalists highlighted how the entire Sonajhuri forest area became polluted following the festival last year.
On Sunday, several banners and posters were put up in the Sonajhuri forest area announcing that Holi celebrations, videography or shooting through drones would not be permitted in the protected forest area.
“What happened last year in Sonajhuri forest was very unfortunate. Thousands of people entered the forest with hundreds of cars, creating massive traffic congestion. It became a major challenge for the police to manage the crowd and vehicles. So, it’s better if the event is not organised in the Sonajhuri forest,” an official said.
Although Visva-Bharati has banned the entry of outsiders to its event, thousands of tourists still visit the varsity town during Holi to celebrate the festival in various locations.
The event also brings good business for hoteliers, traders and craftspersons in and around Santiniketan.
Sources said tourists might come this year as well.