Durga Puja is observed with great enthusiasm across the country but when it comes to West Bengal, no other region can beat the amazing celebration that is done here. Not just for the pandal hopping and puja rituals, this year the state has also taken a heartwarming initiative to elevate the festive meals for their inmates. Correctional home authorities in West Bengal have decided to serve special meals, including mutton biryani and basanti pulao, to inmates during the upcoming Durga Puja celebrations. As per the officials, this effort aims to ensure that inmates, both convicts and undertrials, also participate in the festive spirit. The special menu will be introduced for lunch and dinner from Sasthi (October 9) and continue until Dashami (October 12), marking the beginning and end of the festival.
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An official from the correctional home stated, "We get requests from inmates for better food during every festival. We have got a new menu this year and are hopeful that this will bring smiles to their faces. I personally consider this as a very positive move to reform them." Inmates who work as cooks will prepare the festive meals, which include an array of Bengali delicacies. The dishes on the menu will feature macher matha diye pui shak (Malabar spinach with fish head), macher matha diye dal (dal with fish head), luchi-cholar dal (puri with Bengal gram dal), payesh (Bengali porridge), chicken curry, alu potol chingri (shrimp with pointed gourd and potato), mutton biryani with raita, and basanti pulao (yellow pulao).
However, considering religious sentiments, non-vegetarian options will not be served to all inmates. They will be given the choice to select from the menu based on their preferences. The official further explained, "We want to bring changes in their routine, a break from their daily lives. For many Bengalis or even people of different communities living in the state for years, Durga puja and other festivals are incomplete without fish and meat items on their platter. Hence we tried to bring variety in their cuisines so that they will relish as Bengalis."
Among the participating correctional facilities is Kolkata's Presidency Jail, which houses prominent figures like former state ministers Partha Chatterjee and Jyoti Priya Mallick, as well as ex-principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh. Altogether, 26,994 men and 1,778 women are currently housed in 59 correctional homes across West Bengal. Special meal arrangements will be implemented in all these facilities during the Durga Puja festivities. "For every major event, we seek to make special arrangements for the inmates," added another official.