The Calcutta High Court modified its order on Wednesday declaring all Durga Puja pandals as no-entry zones and increasing the number of people who can enter the pandal at once.
The court has raised the limit on the number of puja committee members that can enter the pandal and also allowed dhakis (drummers) to enter the premises. More members, including local residents, can now enter the pandals to participate in puja and rituals. Previously, the court had allowed 15-25 committee members to enter and has now set the limit at 45 members for large puja pandals at a time. Committees must prepare a list of 60 names in advance.
Names can be changed every day, the court said, adding that in case of small bids, the list would contain only 15 names and no more than 10 members would be allowed to enter at a time. The list can change every day and must be prepared before 8 am.
The ruling comes after a petition for review filed by leading bidding organizers in Kolkata on Tuesday that cited “practical problems” in executing the court order.
“The plaintiffs claim that this court can find that the instructions given in the order dated October 19 may not be feasible in view of the varying on-site issues that individual organizers must fully address the Durga Puja celebration. in the locality ”, the petition said, adding that Durga Puja from Kolkata has been nominated for the UNESCO 2020 list.
“There are some practical problems as nearly 80% of bids in Kolkata are on lanes that are no more than 18-24 feet wide. If they put up barricades, there would be no room for visitors to pass and people would virtually have to return without seeing the bid, “said Saswata Basu, general secretary of the Durgotsab Forum.
On Monday, the court prohibited the entry of visitors inside the pandales and declared them virtually as ‘no-entry zones’ to avoid gatherings that could lead to an increase in cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), as they warned the doctors. Although Durga Puja starts on Thursday, pandal jumping has already started in the state.
The decision on Monday was welcomed by doctors. They described it as “historic” and said that if clubs and bidding committees adhere to the directive, the transmission of Covid-19 will definitely be restricted to a certain level.
.
