Kolkata: CM Suvendu Adhikari on Monday announced that the state govt would officially celebrate Rakhi Bandhan from this year, calling it a move not only to uphold the festival’s religious significance but to strengthen social harmony, bonding and the spirit of brotherhood across Bengal.The announcement came after Adhikari led the Har Ghar Tiranga march from Gostho Pal Sarani near Eden Gardens to the north gate of Victoria Memorial — a roughly 2.5-km stretch that drew over 50,000 participants including govt officials and school students.The march began with a rendition of Vande Mataram and the release of Tricolour balloons, under heavy police deployment along the route. Rakhi Bandhan falls on Aug 28 this year.“I urge every resident to flutter the Tricolour at their houses to mark the 80th Independence Day. I invite everyone to join the celebration at Red Road on Aug 15. This is for the first time our state has become associated with the Centre’s Har Ghar Tiranga initiative. We are distributing about 70 lakh national flags among people. From this year, the state govt will also observe Rakhi Bandhan officially to spread social bonding and brotherhood,” the CM said.State ministers Tapas Roy, Dilip Ghosh, Arjun Singh, Sharadwat Mukherjee, Jagannath Chattopadhyay and several BJP MLAs and functionaries also joined the march.Among the participants were students from schools across the city and beyond. Md Ghulam Hasan, a Class 11 student of Rani Rashmoni High School, Taltala, said: “This event instills in us a patriotic fervour.”Vidya Gupta, a Class 12 student of Khanna High School, said: “This is the first time I experienced walking in a procession holding the Tricolour. This can be a tribute to the freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the nation.”Several participants had come from far-off areas. Dipankar Ghosh from Joynagar said around 60 residents of his neighbourhood had formed a group to travel to the city for the event. The Har Ghar Tiranga initiative will continue until Aug 17.
