Be on your toes this festive season: Mamata to ministers

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee asked all ministers to be present in their respective Assembly constituencies and districts to avoid any untoward incident during Durga Puja and Muharram.

Banerjee gave the direction to the ministers during a Cabinet meeting in Nabanna on Monday.

Sources said that Indranil Sen, who is the Minister of State (MoS) for Information and Cultural Affairs, is going to be the new MoS for Tourism replacing Ghulam Rabbani the MLA from Goalpokhar Assembly constituency. Rabbani would become MoS for Panchayat and Rural Development department.

On Monday Mamata Banerjee inaugurated Puja mandaps of 74 Palli in Kidderpore, 75 Palli, Muktadal and Badamtala Ashar Sangha in Bhowanipore. She left Nabanna after holding the Cabinet meeting and visited the Puja mandaps.

Sources said that every minister has been directed to be present in their own Assembly constituencies. At the same time they have to be aware of the situation in their respective district. If needed, a minister also has to extend their support to the adjacent districts to avoid any untoward incident during the festive season.

It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had given a message to the people of the state urging to maintain peace and harmony in the administrative and co-ordination meeting held for conducting Durga Puja, Id-Ul-Zoha and Muharram safely, on August 30. She had said: “There are some people who try to create trouble. Thus I would like to urge people from all communities, clubs and youngsters to ensure peace and harmony during Durga Puja and Muharram. There are the brothers and sisters of Bengal to stop miscreants if they find anyone trying to play spoilsport.”

Both the state police and Kolkata Police held a series of meetings and chalked out elaborate plans to avoid any sort of untoward incidents during Durga Puja.

Rajeev Kumar, Commissioner of Kolkata Police on Monday unveiled the road map to guide pandal hoppers and a mobile phone app has also been introduced using which one can easily get direction to reach his or her destination. The most important part of the app is that photograph and information of a missing child can be uploaded in it. Some children go missing in the crowd during Durga Puja. Introduction of the app would help the police return the children to their parents easily.

Moreover, traffic sergeants will be filing e-challans while booking driver of vehicles for rash driving or for violating traffic norms during the Puja.

The Kolkata Police have decided to deploy the additional policemen to control the crowd and ensure smooth traffic movement from Chaturthi onward. All senior police officers will be on duty. Around 4,500 special forces, 2000 volunteers of National Cadet Corps and 500 home guards will be deployed to ensure that no untoward incidents take place in the city during Puja.

There will be around 5,000 policemen on Chaturthi and the number will go up to 12,000 from Panchami. There will be 21 quick response teams and 25 heavy radio flying squads (HRFS). Around 76 additional surveillance cameras will be installed and there will be 46 watch towers all around the city.  The Rashbehari and Gariahat area has been divided into four zones for better policing. Necessary legal steps would be taken against bikers without helmets or riding bikes with two persons on the pillion.