Bangla Sangeet Mela ends

Kolkata, Apr 21 (PTI) West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced a special pension of Rs 10,000 per month for bhajan singer Juthika Roy and veteran Shehnai player Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain as Bangla Sangeet Mela came to end tonight. Veteran sitarist Kalyani Roy and vocalist Madhuri Chatterjee will be given a monthly pension of Rs 5,000. A Sangeet Samman award of Rs 50,000 was given to 'Padma Shri' Juthika Roy, Madhuri Chatterjee, veteran musician Jatileswar Mukhopadhyay and classical vocalist Haimanti Shukla. Bengali bands like 'Bhoomi', 'Dohar' and 'Chandrabindoo' performed during the grand finale. A record 660 artists enchanted the audience with a rich repertoire during the 8-day festival. With an increased budget of Rs 60 lakh, the 16th edition of the festival was spread over six venues - Mohar Kunja, Deshapriya Park, Rabindra Sadan, Girish Mancha, Sisir Mancha and Nandan.