Peaceful immersion marks end of Durga Puja
Kolkata/Balurghat: The state administration has taken all possible measures to ensure smooth immersion of the Durga idols at different ghats along the river Ganga and other waterbodies maintaining COVID-19 norms and ensuring minimum water pollution.
Tridhara Akalbodhan Club in south Kolkata created a temporary waterbody just adjacent to its puja pandal and sprinkled water by jet spray machine for its idol immersion.
The Puja organisers knowing full well that women and children are not allowed at the ghats came in with very less number during immersion. The police had put up barricades at a reasonable distance away from the ghats to ensure that only a handful of Puja organisers enter beyond the barricaded portion.
"We have arranged for sufficient manpower so that immersion can be done smoothly with the involvement of minimum Puja organisers to maintain physical distancing norms," said Firhad Hakim, Member Board of Administrators, KMC. Hakim visited Baje Kadamtala Ghat, which hosts the maximum number of immersions of idols of the community Pujas in the city, on Tuesday late afternoon.
There are 21 such river
ghats in the city for idol immersion. "We have come with only 10 Puja organisers. The parting rituals of Devi Durga and her entourage at the pandal has been performed maintaining physical distancing norms," said Sudipto Kumar, General Secretary of Deshapriya Park Puja committee.
The idol of Ekdalia Evergreen Club was immersed on Tuesday at Baje Kadamtala Ghat sans the grand and colourful 'sobhayatra' associated with it.
"We have ensured that minimum number of Puja organisers accompany the idols to the ghat to avoid crowding," said Subrata Mukherjee, state Panchayats minister and president of Ekdalia Puja.
"Payloaders and cranes have been deployed in the ghats and the structures of the idols are being lifted immediately to curb water pollution. There are designated bins where flowers and leaves are being dumped before taking the idols to the water," said a senior KMC official.
The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has given special emphasis to minimise the effect of water pollution in strict adherence to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) immersion guidelines.
The state PCB has taken up a pilot project for model immersion at two big ponds—Debu Ghat at Lake Town and Tank No 4 pond at Dum Dum Park— under South Dum Dum municipality for greener measures of idol immersion.
The immersion ghat has been barricaded so that organizers cannot enter the immersion zone. Synthetic liners around the ghat ensure that no Puja waste like flowers, leaves etc are dumped inside the waterbody. Viewing zones, duly fenced allowed organisers to see immersion process from a safe distance.
Kolkata Police has made an elaborate security arrangement for the immersion of idols on river Ganges. Around three thousand police personnel along with Disaster Management Group (DMG) personnel have been deployed in all ghats where immersion is taking place.
This apart River Traffic Police patrolling is going on the water using speed boats and vessels.
Moreover, divers have been kept on reserve in case any urgent situation occurs.
Moreover, as per direction of the state pollution control board in order to make the riverbed clean and pollution free after the immersion of Durga Idol, even the Balurghat civic body reportedly used a gigantic crane to withdraw the remains of idols from Atreyee over the past two days.
Around 90 idols were immersed in Atreyee Ghat since Tuesday evening, an official source informed.
"A floating crane was working overtime to pick-up the idols before they fully dipped. We are using the crane to make the riverbed clean and pollution free. Initially the wooden structures are being kept on one side of the ghat. We will vacant the place soon," informed a civic official.
