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| Durga Puja 2020: Calcutta High Court Declares No-Entry Zones For Visitors in Bengal Pandals |
Kolkata: On Monday, the High Court of Calcutta ordered that the Durga Puja celebrations be regulated in West Bengal in the view of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the court order, Durga Puja's festivities will be subdued in the state this year and restrictions will be in place to check that the festival does not result in a spike in Covid-19 cases.
The High Court in Calcutta ordered on Monday that the Durga Puja pandels in West Bengal would be a no-entry zone for visitors only and that organisers should be entitled to enter the pandels during the COVID-19 pandemic. The names of people who are permitted to enter the pandals will appear outside, said the Court of Calcutta.
“The common citizen should be discouraged to gather in the pandals. The measures that have been announced by the state are well planned but without a proper blueprint to be implemented on the ground,” the court said.
The court said “The apprehension that crowding could lead to an uncontrollable burst in the number of people afflicted by the virus,”
The court added “In the run up to the pujas, the crowding around the markets in big city Kolkata or small towns has remained ‘unchecked’. The same cannot be repeated over the five days during the Durga puja,”
The court further said “If the pandals are made no entry zones and all sides are covered as part of the no entry zones, the public at large will know that there will be no access to the pandal and vicinity, the affinity to hit the streets will be less.”
The judge said in his order, “The virus refuses to go away. Though the healthcare facilities had been augmented with limited resources available. In this situation, than to allow festivities to go on without any checks and repent when the time to cure arrives and adequate resources are not available, therefore. The police cannot be blamed with limited resources at their disposal.”
“When students across schools, colleges, or in higher studies have not attended the educational institutions for almost six months and several students stand to lose a year, it is rather incongruous that puja festivities be permitted to continued as earlier years,” he added.
“If Kolkata Police does not have adequate personnel to manage 3,000 pujas within it’s jurisdiction. The state police will have to control the crowd at 31,000 other pujas in districts across the state. The state had submitted 170 crore rupees were distributed among the 34,000 Durga pujas,” he further said.
