Heritage status for Netaji's ancestral house

With Mamata Banerjee announcing that the government has decided to renovate the ancestral home of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the birthday of this great national leader was celebrated all over the state.

“Netaji had about four or five cottas of land at Kodalia (in South 24 Parganas district). We will construct a monument in Netaji's name on that land,” Banerjee said on the occassion of the nationalist leader's 116th birth anniversary celebrations at Netaji Bhawan in Kolkata on Wednesday.

“Our government has also decided to accord heritage status to Netaji’s ancestral house and we will renovate the heritage building. We hope that we would be able to complete the work within a year,” Banerjee said.

Calling Netaji the greatest Indian ever and a visionary leader, Governor M K Narayanan said his "trail took him not just across India, but across the world in the quest for the Independence of India. Few people have demonstrated such love and devotion for his country."

Meanwhile, breaking the long drawn tradition of observing the birth anniversary of Netaji at Red road, the state government decided to celebrate the occasion at Netaji Bhawan, the residence where he stayed in Kolkata.

However, the Left Front leaders like the former chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Left Front chairman Biman Bose observed the day below the Netaji’s statue at Red road.

To mark the occasion, people from different walks of life also took out processions to commemorate the day. Several localities across the city also organised cultural shows with songs, quiz contests and skits based on his contribution to mark the day.

Innumerable marquees adorned with large photographs of Netaji were sported throughout the city.