Mamata Banerjee govt revived ‘jatra’ art after 2011: minister

West Bengal minister Arup Biswas on Friday claimed that the Mamata Banerjee government has worked for the revival of 'jatra’ art (traditional folk drama) which was in bad shape before 2011, when the Trinamool Congress first came to power.

Biswas, who is the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs and Chairman of Jatra Academy, inaugurated the 28th Jatra Utsav in Kolkata, which will be held for 32 days.

''Before our government came to power, the entire jatra industry was in poor shape, despite being a popular form of entertainment especially in rural areas for centuries. After 2011 when we came to power, the Jatra Utsav was being organised in a grand manner,'' Biswas said. Under the leadership of Banerjee, jatra artistes are being given state-sponsored awards and the government backing jatra shows regularly, he said.

''The entire approach has helped in the turnaround of the industry, making it broad-based on the face of challenges from new modes of entertainment. This change occurred after years of neglect by the previous regime in the pre-2011 period,'' he claimed.

Thirty-four jatras, an eclectic mix of mythological, social and historical, will be staged in three venues for 32 days.

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