<p>Kolkata: The West Bengal government has banned Holi celebrations at the popular Sonajhuri Haat in Birbhum district's Santiniketan this year, citing possible damage to the greeneries in the forest belt, an official said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The Sonajhuri Haat is located near Visva Bharati's Santiniketan campus, a UNESCO heritage site.</p>.UP govt providing free LPG cylinder refills ahead of Holi: CM Adityanath.<p>Bolpur Divisional Forest Officer Rahul Kumar said several banners have been put up in the area, requesting people - a large number of whom could be foreigners and domestic tourists - neither to park vehicles nor celebrate the festival of colours there.</p>.<p>Visitors were also requested not to videograph Holi festivities, he said.</p>.<p>"The department will seek support of police and administration to enforce the ban but will also leave it to people for the better sense to prevail," Kumar told PTI.</p>.<p>A spokesperson of Visva Bharati, a central university, said the varsity authorities cannot open the campus area for lakhs of people on Holi, keeping in mind the UNESCO heritage status.</p>.<p>About the ban on celebrating the Holi festival in the forested Sonajhuri area, the DFO said, "We are not issuing any diktat and people in large groups will be prevented from walking to the Sonajhuri Khowai belt on March 14 - the day of Dol Yatra.</p>.Bareilly police ramp up preparations for Holi and Eid; intensify social media monitoring.<p>"What we want to avert is the assembling of thousands of people during the festival of colours in an area where there is a green cover. The sprinkling of coloured water may cause irreparable damage to trees. Let us take the pledge to save Sonajhuri from any ecological damage on March 14," the DFO said.</p>.<p>This is the first time when the forest department has banned the Holi celebrations at Sonajhuri Haat, which had turned into a destination for lakhs of people during the spring festival after Visva Bharati had stopped public participation in 'Basanto Utsav' (spring festival) after 2019.</p>.<p>"We are not opening the varsity campus (to all) for the 'Basanto Utsav' because of the UNESCO World Heritage status," the Visva Bharati spokesperson said.</p>.<p>"Opening it up for all would mean accommodating more than 5,00,000 people within the ashrama, which Visva-Bharati cannot manage in terms of infrastructure and logistics," he pointed out. </p>
<p>Kolkata: The West Bengal government has banned Holi celebrations at the popular Sonajhuri Haat in Birbhum district's Santiniketan this year, citing possible damage to the greeneries in the forest belt, an official said on Wednesday.</p>.<p>The Sonajhuri Haat is located near Visva Bharati's Santiniketan campus, a UNESCO heritage site.</p>.UP govt providing free LPG cylinder refills ahead of Holi: CM Adityanath.<p>Bolpur Divisional Forest Officer Rahul Kumar said several banners have been put up in the area, requesting people - a large number of whom could be foreigners and domestic tourists - neither to park vehicles nor celebrate the festival of colours there.</p>.<p>Visitors were also requested not to videograph Holi festivities, he said.</p>.<p>"The department will seek support of police and administration to enforce the ban but will also leave it to people for the better sense to prevail," Kumar told PTI.</p>.<p>A spokesperson of Visva Bharati, a central university, said the varsity authorities cannot open the campus area for lakhs of people on Holi, keeping in mind the UNESCO heritage status.</p>.<p>About the ban on celebrating the Holi festival in the forested Sonajhuri area, the DFO said, "We are not issuing any diktat and people in large groups will be prevented from walking to the Sonajhuri Khowai belt on March 14 - the day of Dol Yatra.</p>.Bareilly police ramp up preparations for Holi and Eid; intensify social media monitoring.<p>"What we want to avert is the assembling of thousands of people during the festival of colours in an area where there is a green cover. The sprinkling of coloured water may cause irreparable damage to trees. Let us take the pledge to save Sonajhuri from any ecological damage on March 14," the DFO said.</p>.<p>This is the first time when the forest department has banned the Holi celebrations at Sonajhuri Haat, which had turned into a destination for lakhs of people during the spring festival after Visva Bharati had stopped public participation in 'Basanto Utsav' (spring festival) after 2019.</p>.<p>"We are not opening the varsity campus (to all) for the 'Basanto Utsav' because of the UNESCO World Heritage status," the Visva Bharati spokesperson said.</p>.<p>"Opening it up for all would mean accommodating more than 5,00,000 people within the ashrama, which Visva-Bharati cannot manage in terms of infrastructure and logistics," he pointed out. </p>