Adhering to NGT orders, state govt rules out Chhath Puja inside Rabindra Sarovar
Kolkata: The state government will not allow Chhath Puja inside the Rabindra Sarobar following the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
Chaath Puja will be held on November 2 evening and November 3 morning. A high-level meeting to take stock of the situation was held on Saturday. Antara Acharya, CEO, Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) along with senior officials of the agency along with senior officials of the Kolkata Police were present at the meeting. For the past one month, KMDA officials held a series of meetings with the representatives of the Bihari community. The state government will have to inform the NGT on October 14 about the steps taken to ensure that no Chhath Puja is held at Rabindra Sarobar.
It has been decided at the meeting that the KMDA will issue a notification to close Rabindra Sarobar during the Chhath Puja, that is, November 2 evening and November 3 morning. This is for the first time that the Dhakuria Lake will be closed since the creation of the artificial water body nearly a century ago. KMDA officials will visit different areas where the concentration of people from Bihar is more to inform them about the banning of Chhath Puja at Rabindra Sarobar through the public address system. All the 176 CCTVs installed at Rabindra Sarobar were checked by a team comprising officials of the Kolkata Police and KMDA and a new control room to monitor them will be set up opposite Nazrul Mancha within the Rabindra Sarobar campus. All the transporters running medium trucks will be informed about the banning of Chhath Puja at Rabindra Sarobar. The KMDA will hand over Rabindra Sarobar to the Kolkata Police before the Chhath Puja.
Meanwhile, elaborate arrangements have been made to hold the Puja at different water bodies situated in South Kolkata and its southern fringes. Two water bodies at Patuli will be developed into temporary ghats. Another water body at Nonadadanga is likely to be developed as an alternative along with the one in Taratala. The water bodies in Jadavpur, Bikramgarh and Lalka will be used to hold the Chhath Puja.
