Kolkata: Kali Puja is celebrated every year with pomp and grandeur in North 24-Parganas' Barasat and Madhyamgram but this year following the Covid pandemic the Puja organisers will cut short their celebration and the rituals will happen without any extravaganza.
The North 24-Parganas district administration; senior police officers will hold a meeting with the civic bodies to formulate guidelines for Kali puja organizers. Like Durga Puja the main purpose of the civic bodies is to ensure that the Covid infection rate does not go up only because of pandal hopping.
As both the towns ~ Madhyamgram and Barasat are famous for Kali Puja celebration all the big budget puja committees try to attract more visitors by various unique craftsmanship and work of art inside their puja pandal. But the Covid has triggered a fear among the people with the infection rate is still not brought under control.
During the recently concluded Durga Puja, the state government had issued certain guidelines to check the spread of the infection. In a similar line Madhyamgram and Barasat Municipality will issue certain guidelines for the puja organizers so that social distancing norms are followed.
Madhyamgram MLA Rathin Ghosh who is also the local municipality chairman will hold a meeting with the various stakeholders and the police administration on November 4 to ensure that Kali Puja is celebrated with certain restrictions being imposed on the organizers. Over 150 Kali pujas are organised in Madhyamgram out of which more than 20 are big budget pujas. But this year, all the big Puja organizers have agreed to hold pujas without any pomp and grandeur.
"All the puja organizers will curtail their budget and there will be no extravaganza this time. All the Puja organisers have to adhere to the guidelines which will be issued by the civic bodies and the police administration," Ghosh said. Ghosh has already conducted a meeting with the organisers and he will also hold another meeting to ensure that no loopholes take place.
As many as 20 big Pujas are held in Barasat as well. During a recent meeting with the puja organizers the civic body has instructed the Puja organisers at Barasat to erect pandals in such a manner so that it is open from three sides.