The Calcutta High Court ruled on Monday that no visitors will be allowed inside Durga Puja pandals this year, NDTV reported. The court said all pandales should be declared containment zones in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Durga Puja celebrations will begin on October 22.
Only organizers will be allowed to enter the pandals, the court said. He also put a limit on the number of organizers allowed inside: 25 for large pandals and 15 for smaller ones. The court also ordered that the names of the Durga Puja organizers allow inside the puja pandals to be displayed outside the pandals, The Hindu reported.
Judge Sanjib Bandhopadhay asked how 20,000 policemen will control a crowd that can increase to three lakhs, he reported. Hindustan Times Bangla.
The court, while hearing a public interest litigation over the fact that Durga Pujas was allowed in the state, observed that the police do not have enough resources to control the crowd if people descend into the streets.
“The Calcutta High Court said that in the case of small 5-meter Durga Puja pandals and large 10-meter puja pandals a no-entry zone should be declared,” said lawyer Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner. . “The distance will have to be measured from where the limit of the Durga Puja pandal ends.”
Around 37,000 Durga Puja events have been announced across the state and the government led by the Trinamool Congress has awarded Rs 50,000 to each organizer. Last week, the Calcutta High Court ruled that the money allocated by the state for Durga Puja can only be spent on the distribution of masks, disinfectants and community policing, and not to organize the event or to entertain the organizers.
Following the High Court order, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will meet with the administration to decide the next step, NDTV reported. “It is a setback for the Puja organizers … we will wait for the government to speak,” said Saugata Roy, a deputy from Trinamool Congress.
Saswat Bose, director of the Durgotsav Forum, an organization that groups 400 of Kolkata’s largest bids, also called it a major setback. “My first reaction is a huge disappointment,” he said. “What about the economic losses? Huge expenses have already been incurred. The bid we make is not a matter of profit or loss. We bid for passion. We are shocked. Let’s see what happens.”
West Bengal has more than 33,000 active cases and more than 6,000 deaths as of Monday, according to the Health Ministry.
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