Durga Puja pandal not dismantled to save family of doves in Bengal's Chinsurah

A pair of doves waiting for their four eggs to hatch have found saviours in members of the Sukanta Nagar Smriti Sangha Durgatsav Committee in the centuries-old town of Chinsurah in Bengal's Hooghly district.

Durga Puja ran from October 16 to October 21, with Mahalaya observed earlier on October 10.

For the spotted doves of the species Spilopelia chinensis, the most common in West Bengal, the Durga Puja pandal has become home, the organisers said.

The committee members, many of whom are professional artisans working as carpenters or masons, helped erect a huge pandal modelled on the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh. The theme not only drew thousands of visitors but also helped the committee win a few prizes.

"While building the pandal, we noticed a couple of doves building a nest on a wooden cross-section we had put up towards the top of the structure. We did not disturb the birds. After the pujas were over, we found the female incubating four eggs," Manoj Mondal, a member of the organising committee, told the media.

Puja organiser Surajit Das said that while most of the pandal was dismantled to make way for traffic, the section of the structure housing the nest was left untouched.

“Although we followed the administration's deadline regarding immersion of Durga idols and dismantled most of the pandal as well to make way for traffic, the part of the structure housing the nest was not touched. We are waiting for the eggs to hatch. Once the birds are ready to leave, we will help them nest elsewhere,” Das said.