Amidst COVID-19 fright, Pandals to be no entry zones in Kolkata: HC

With the Calcutta High Court’s
declaration of making all pandals no- entry zones in Kolkata, Durga Puja
celebration already plagued by the coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the
worse as revelers were missing on the streets on ‘Mahasasthi’ which marks the
beginning of the five-day Durga puja festivities.

Big shot pandals like Ekdalia
Evergreen, Singhi Park, Ahiritola Sarbojonin, Tridhara Sammilani, Chetla Agroni
stood hopeless getting only a handful of organizers and local residents as
visitors.

Despite the court orders and
soggy drizzle ravaging the open marquees, a few people were seen to be enjoying
the occasion by taking photographs of pandals from a distance and treating with
the street food

Piyush Saha, an IT
professional in Tollygunje area, said he had downloaded apps launched by some
of the award- winning pujas not to miss on the fun and festivities of these
ravishing pandals.

“There is no point
risking our safety amid the pandemic as most of the organizers have launched
their apps live streaming the events on YouTube, why take the risk? I have,
however, visited the pandal near my home,” he added

Secretary of Santoshpur Lake
Pally,Mr. Somnath Das claimed that visitors will get to see our Maa Durga’s
idol from a distance of 10 meters.

He went on to say, “We
have also arranged 360 degree live streaming of our puja on YouTube.”

A Kolkata Police official said
that all arrangements were in place for crowd management as reported by PTI.

However, no report of court
order violation was received from anywhere in the city so far the official told
PTI.

The Calcutta High Court, in
an order on Monday, declared community Durga Puja pandals as “no-entry
zones” disallowing visitors from entering the marquees amidst the surge in
COVID-19 cases across the state