Kolkata Beach Festival 2012

The Kolkata Beach festival happened last weekend, 13th to 16th January 2012 and will be a regular feature from now on every year.

Finally some effort into getting tourism a jump start in the state. What with a state which has almost all the natural resources the whole country has to offer, the implorable condition of the infrastructure and facilities has always gone against it. So apart from the Darjeeling- Deegha circuit even localites like myself dont travel in the state. Maybe festivals like the Christmas celebrations on Park Street and now the Beach festival will liven up things.

Mandarmani beach also has started water sports to attract more tourists, and I myself have been to the beach- its heavenly. But here are the negatives which the tourism dept would like to consider:

1. No drive worthy route to the beach
2. The accommodation is grossly overpriced, with not enough facilities
3. Goonda-s often take over the beach- A friend was asked for thousands of rupees when his car got stuck in the sand. The hooligans would not let them take the car out themselves (there were 4 men and a couple of women in the car and they were surrounded by a gang of about 10).

Times of India didnt have many good things to say about the festival:  Better luck next time?

DIGHA: It may take some time for the Mamata Banerjeegovernment to turn Digha from a downmarket seaside town into an international getaway spot like Goa. But on Friday, Digha Beach Festival, which was supposed to be a celebration of tourism, was turned into a political platform. The chief minister certainly missed the opportunity to market Digha by playing to the gallery.

Though Mamata Banerjee did not talk politics, the presence of 20-odd politicians and bureaucrats on stage did send that message. Though the chance presence of Tollywood actors Paoli Dam and Bikram (the duo was shooting a film in Digha when Didi spotted them and sent an invite) did add a dash of glamour, it was all too lost in the crowd of dour netas and babus that incongruously hogged the limelight atop a decked-up stage while artists sat below.