Only organisers would be allowed to enter the pandals and their names would be dislayed outside, the high court ordered.
All the Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal will be no-entry zone for visitors and only organizers will allowed to enter the pandals amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Calcutta High Court ordered on Monday. The names of people allowed to enter the pandals will be displayed outside it, the Calcutta High Court said.
The court also highlighted that five metres beyond the extremities of the small pandals and 10 metres beyond the bigger pandals are to be barricaded and demarcated as no entry zones.
This direction will apply to all the 34,000 Durga Puja pandals in the state.
While delivering the order, the judge said that all prominent pujas to be considered as larger pandals and all puja committees will have to adhere to the no-entry zone rule.
The judge also said, "the virus refuses to go away. Though the healthcare facilities had been augmented with limited rescources 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."
"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. However, now that pandals have already come up and were no curbs in the state, 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 apprehension that crowding could lead to an uncontrollable burst in the number of people afflicted by the virus. The police cannot be blamed with limited resources at their disposal," the court said.
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. 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.
It will also be possible in such a scenario the virtual streaming of pandals for ordinary citizens to make do with virtual darshan this year and wait for the normal fare to return next year.
This order must not be seen as one against the state’s measures but to see proper implementation of measures with limited police personnel and administrative officials, the court said.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Durga Puja 2020")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}