The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday organised a Raksha Bandhan event in Dum Dum area of North 24 Parganas district today. Women tied rakhis to Afghan nationals and others living in the area.

Rakhis with the face of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and “Dilli Chalo” written on it, tied to the Afghan nationals and others living in Dum Dum area of North 24 Parganas district.

Markets in Siliguri were flooded with ‘didi rakhis’, symbolising the recent victory of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the recently-held polls. Banerjee is popularly referred as “Didi”. 

Santu Sarkar, a customer at Mahabirsthan Bazaar said, “This year, rakhis are interesting. I found Mamata didi’s rakhi at a shop. Mamata didi had won the election recently and her popularity is massive in Bengal. So, I decided to purchase Mamata rakhi and it will be given to my relatives to mark the celebration of Rakshabandhan.”

MD Jakir, a shopkeeper from Mahabirsthan Bazaar in Siliguri said, “I always try to bring something special to every festival. Here, there is a huge demand for Mamata didi’s rakhi.”

Meanwhile in Bihar, CM Nitish Kumar tied rakhis to trees in Patna to spread awareness on environmental conservation. The Bihar government has been observing Raksha Bandhan as ‘Vriksh Raksha Diwas’ (Tree Protection Day) since 2012 to maintain Bihar’s green cover. CM Kumar urged people to plant saplings and save them to conserve the environment.

“Since 2012, we have been observing Rakshabandhan as ‘Vriksh Raksha Diwas’ (Tree Protection Day). People should save trees, just like they save people,” the Bihar CM said.

“We need to plant trees and save them to conserve the environment. The state government has been focusing on planting saplings under the Jal Jeewan Hariyali mission. The future generation is now aware of the environment conservation,” he said