By Pooja Bhula
Shillong: Gorkhas, who brought the tradition of Durga Puja to Shillong are still fighting for adequate space to conduct the annual puja rituals. “The number of letters we have written to different authorities would fill a truck,” says B B Chettri, Chairman of the Gorkha Durga Puja Committee (GDPC).
The first Durga Puja in Shillong took place where the Military Hospital stands today. It was started by the Gorkha Rifles in 1872.
The Gorkha civilians in the region were very few so did not have a separate pandal but joined in with the military.
In 1942, Gorkha Rifles were transferred to Quetta, which is now in Pakistan, so the responsibility for observing the annual puja was transferred to civilians and the Gorkha Durga Puja Committee was formed.
The land on which the puja was conducted was cantonment land and the committee had to shift base to Arya Samaj Field in 1964 because the military needed the land for a cantonment school.
In 1969 even the Arya Samaj space became unavailable; that is when the GDPC decided that it needed its own land to be able to celebrate the festival without obstacles.
“We first applied in 1970, to the cantonment board which recommended 38,000 sq.ft. at Rs. 1 per sq ft subject to clearance by Central Government. We sent several applications spoke to governors, presidents but nothing came of it,” Chettri said
Since 1970 the Committee has been conducting puja at Lukier Road, Paltan Bazar, but the fight for ownership is still on and the matter is stuck in bureaucracy.
“In 2004, the board recommended 25,000 sq.ft. of land and we immediately agreed to that as well. A resolution was passed stating that the land covered by the temple should go to the Committee. But it was not transferred to us, “Chettri observed
Chettri said the Board further reduced the space to 14,000 sq.ft., something the Committee was unwilling to agree with.
“Unlike other communities we celebrate the festival for 10 days and have three temples for it. The first temple has the idol of the deity, the second called Kotghar is where we sacrifice birds and animals and the third is where the main puja happens because traditionally the Gorkhas are not idol worshippers. We can’t do without any of the three.”
The 14,000 sq.ft.would given would exclude the Koteghar and the Mandir where the main puja is conducted.
The last communication the committee received was in 2010.
“The letter asked us whether we were ready to take the land and whether we were a registered organization. We replied in the positive for both because we are registered under the society’s act 1960. We are the de-facto owners of the land but the official transfer has still not materialized and now it is stuck with the Principal Director of Defence Estate, Kolkota,” Chettri said
Despite the long wait, however, the Committee has not given up trying.