Kolkata: State Forest minister Rajib Banerjee will inaugurate the 17th Kolkata Phool Mela 2020 at Eden Parks on January 27. Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim and Speaker Biman Bandyopadhyay have confirmed their presence at the inauguration ceremony as chief guest and special guest respectively. "This year, for the first time in the history of the Kolkata Phool Mela, schools and colleges will participate in the different competitions such as floral rangoli completion, poster making competition, recycling of plastic and rubber gardening, fancy and others. We have also roped in various NGOs for the mela. 250 inmates will also participate," said R N Saha, deputy conservator of Forests, urban recreation forestry division. People from all age groups and from a different section of society will showcase their talent. Children from slum areas to elite class will be provided equal opportunity to showcase their talent. The children of Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Ahana Foundation, Durbar Mahila Swamanaya Samiti will perform cultural programmes. This apart, the Nabadisha, Pronam, Paschim Banga Bigyan Mancha and more than 37 schools, 15 colleges and 10 NGOs are participating at the mela. The mela will also have a cultural programme where eminent artistes like flutist Ranjan Jana, Argha Dutta (Amul star voice of India), Kamalika Chakraborty (Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Zee Bangla) Parijat Band and child artistes from different schools will take part. Different government departmental stalls will be there to share the information on social projects and other such information. Apart from the NGO, NGI (Next Generation Identification) stalls will be set up to showcase different environmental topics. The demonstration on alternate livelihoods practices from floral resources will be exhibited for public.

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