Kolkata: The 27th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) to be held from January 7 to 14 will be a scaled down affair with the authorities deciding to hold the usually grand inaugural function in the virtual mode due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.
West Bengal Minister of State for Culture Indranil Sen told a press meet on Tuesday that there will be 50 per cent occupancy at the 10 venues in the city where KIFF will be held.
The ten venues are the three auditoria in the Nandan complex, Rabindra Sadan, Sisir Mancha, two auditoria of Nazrul Tirtha, Raindra Okakura Bhavan, Chalachitra Satabarsha Bhavan and Kolkata Information Centre Conference Hall where all COVID-19 protocols will be in place, he said.
West Bengal on Tuesday reported 9,073 fresh Covid-19 infections, an increase of over 49.27 per cent in a single day, with Kolkata accounting for over half of them, the state health department said in a bulletin.
The state also logged 16 fresh fatalities that pushed the death toll to 19,810.
(With agency inputs)
