From saying, no to plastic to supporting the #MeToo movement, burning issues are part of the Durga Puja celebrations this year in Banaras. The Eagle Club in Jangambari area has used empty plastic bottles symbolically as demons that lie under the feet of Goddess Durga. According to the secretary of the club, Shantanu Bhattacharya, "In our pre-golden jubilee year we are spreading awareness on the minimum use of plastic that has a hazardous effect on our environment. Plastic is like a demon so we have represented it that way. Apart from that, we will be putting up an exhibition of slogans dissuading people from using plastic. A lot of people visit the pandals, so we think this is a good way to spread the message."BHU campus durga puja celebrations (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Similarly Kashi Durgoutsav Samiti, Shivala, one of the oldest puja committees in the city, is dedicating its cultural events to women empowerment. "The #MeToo campaign is a sign of women empowerment, so supporting the campaign, most of our cultural events will be depicting the condition of women. Though we worship the female force, there are a lot of atrocities committed on them. Through the performances we will be drawing attention to this hypocrisy. The idea behind this is that crime against women should be stopped," says Indraneel Mukehrjee, puja secretary of the Committee. Eagle Club at Jangambari raises awareness abour environment (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Durga puja celebration in Hathua market (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Durga puja celebrations at Gulab bagh (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Lord Shiva's abode as theme of pandal of gulab bagh Durga Puja (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Replica of Dakshineswar Kali temple pandal at Shivala (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Replica of maheshmati mahal of Baahubali film at Hathua market Durgapuja (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)Temple Art pandal at BHU (BCCL/ Unmesh Pandey)

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