Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency: East Bengal Club is the only club in India where natural and artificial grounds are located side by side. Today, February 6, 2026, the club's newly constructed artificial ground was inaugurated at this grand ceremony by the city's mayor, Mr. Firhad Hakim, Housing and Power Minister Arup Biswas, Principal Secretary (Sports and Youth Welfare) of the state government Rajesh Kumar Sinha, IAS, Colonel Land, Club President Murari Lal Lohia, General Secretary Rupak Saha, Football and Cricket Secretaries Saikat Ganguly and Sanjeev Acharya respectively, Debabrata Sarkar, and several other club officials. Many former players and club members and supporters were also present. On behalf of the club, the wife of the late Pasha, Saeeda Begum, was overwhelmed by the financial assistance. She was accompanied by their daughter Faria Arjuma Khansa and son Zabiullah Mohammad. The newly constructed artificial ground of the club was formally inaugurated amidst a dazzling display of lights at the East Bengal ground.
Pic by Bibhash Lodh/BS News Agency.
Amidst sorrow, creation, camaraderie, and reminiscence seemed to merge into one at East Bengal Club today. Just a few days ago, the club's former captain, wearing jersey number 17, Elias Pasha, passed away. East Bengal Club and the players had pledged to stand by him and his family during his treatment, a tradition of this club. However, he passed away before that. But, as promised, the club and former players jointly handed over 11 lakh rupees to Pasha's family today. Along with this, several former footballers played a benefit match shoulder to shoulder with Pasha's family. The spectators came and relived the past through their football artistry. The match was played between East Bengal All Stars and East Bengal Legends. East Bengal Legends won the match with the only goal scored by Chandan Das. In another match, Team East Bengal defeated Team FPAI by 5-0. The goals were scored by Soumik Dey, Alvito D'Cunha, Rafiq, and Baichung-2.
Despite their physical condition being against them, Bhaskar Ganguly, Manoranjan Bhattacharya, and Prashanta Banerjee were present on the field. Bikash Panji, Tushar Rakshit, Shishir Ghosh, Baichung Bhutia, Alvito D'Cunha, Rahim Nabi, Soumik Dey, Dulal Biswas, Mehtab Hossain, Arnab Mondal, Sandeep Nandi, Dipankar Roy, Shashti Dhule, Deepak Mondal, Mehrajuddin, Barreto, Asim Biswas, Sule Musa, Chandan Das, Falguni Dutta, and Suryashekhar, among others, showcased glimpses of the past under the floodlights on the newly inaugurated artificial track of the East Bengal Club. This is what true camaraderie and empathy look like. They themselves arranged the necessary funds, giving the spectators the opportunity to witness such an event free of charge.