New era from Red Road to Brigade Parade Ground
Dubela, Tanisha Das: Kolkata witnessed a major change this Eid al-Adha or Bakrid. For the very first time, the namaz was held at Brigade Parade Ground instead of the Red Road. During the Left Front and Trinamool Congress rule, the Eid ul-Fitr and Bakrid namaz used to take place on Red Road for decades. Therefore, after the BJP’s massive win, we can see a shift; now the place for namaz is Brigade Parade Ground, the Army-controlled Maidan area.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced after the oath-taking that no more religious gatherings won’t be allowed on the road due to traffic jams and harassment of people, so that people or emergency services don’t get affected. Excessive Kolkata Police were posted there, and drone surveillance took place.
Loudspeakers and sound systems were provided at the place. Javed Ahmed Khan and the Khilafat Committee president urged the people to only use authorised parking.
Only May 28 is declared as the public holiday for Bakrid by the ruling party. Earlier, it used to be a two-day holiday. So we can conclude that Red Road ended its era of being a part of the namaz offering ceremony.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Debroop Banerjee.
