8 months ago
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Several artisans and workers from West Bengal, who travel to Delhi-NCR each twelvemonth for Durga Puja pandal operation and spiritual performances, said they were hesitant to prime up enactment this time, fearing “harassment oregon mistreatment”, but did truthful lone for the “sake of livelihood”.
They said their fearfulness stemmed from a Delhi Police thrust to place “illegal” Bangladeshi staying successful the Capital. During the drive, respective cases of alleged “incorrect identification” and “harassment” surfaced.
Madhob Das, 48, from Birbhum, West Bengal, had travel to Delhi for decoration enactment of a Durga Puja pandal astatine Chittaranjan Park’s A-Block. “I person a squad of implicit 50 radical who travel with maine to enactment astatine respective pandals successful Delhi and Noida. Unlike erstwhile years, the workers person been skeptical astir travelling to Delhi-NCR, fearing mistreatment by the authorities,” said Mr. Das.
To guarantee the creaseless behaviour of the work, Mr. Das had asked each his squad members to transportation each indispensable documents, including individuality proofs, with them and had besides kept a transcript of their documents with himself. “The ordeal of Bengali migrants successful Delhi-NCR is known to each of america hailing from the tiny towns of Bengal. So, erstwhile I accepted the enactment offer, I made it mandatory for each to transportation each documents,” helium added.
Jana Mondal, 52, a dhaki (drum) player, who volition beryllium performing astatine different pandal successful C.R. Park, said the Haryana constabulary had questioned his relative and sister-in-law earlier this year, “suspecting” them to beryllium Bangladeshi. “Despite specified fears, my philharmonic radical and I travelled to Delhi lone for the involvement of livelihood,” said Mr. Mondal, who hails from South 24 Parganas. He said that the five-day enactment astatine Durga Puja earns them ₹40,000.
Another dhaki player, Nurul Sheikh, 34, said helium was acceptable to instrumentality up enactment successful Delhi but not successful Noida. “I person been coming to Delhi since the property of seven. Despite bully offers, I person stopped taking enactment successful Noida, fearing harassment,” said Mr. Sheikh.
A nonmigratory of Malda, West Bengal, Mr. Sheikh said that a person’s religion does not substance successful his colony erstwhile it comes to participating successful Durga Puja. “Now, we instrumentality bookings lone from a household successful Delhi, who person roots to our colony and don’t mistreat us,” helium said.
A Durga Puja organiser successful Delhi, who wishes to stay anonymous, told The Hindu that respective workers coming from Bengal enquire whether they request to stock individuality cards good successful advance
