KMDA to keep shut all gates of Rabindra Sarobar on Chhath Puja
Kolkata: Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) will close all the 12 gates of Rabindra Sarobar from 8 pm on Wednesday till noon on Friday to prevent observance of Chhath puja at the waterbody. No activities, including morning and evening walk, will be permitted in the lake premises during this period.
The six clubs — Lake Friends Swimming Club, The Calcutta Swimming Club, Indian Life Saving Society, Bengal Rowing Club, Lake Club and Calcutta Rowing Club — in and around Rabindra Sarobar, will remain shut during the same period. This year, the Chhath rituals will be performed on November 7 evening and on the 8th morning.
“We have received communication from KMDA to keep the clubs shut from 8 pm on November 6 till 12 noon of November 8 to prevent anyone from using the entry of the clubs to perform Chhath rituals in the lake. We will adhere to it,” said Subhasis Dasgupta , executive committee member of Lake Club.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has prohibited Chhath rituals at Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar, off Beleghata. Hence, all possible measures have been taken in accordance with the order.
In 2018, thousands of worshippers performed the Chhath rituals in the Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar premises violating prohibitory orders. “All the gates of Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar will be secured with temporary bamboo structures.
Each bamboo barricade will be around 25-feet-long covering the entire gate. The gates will be locked with iron chains and banners will be put up saying performing Chhath rituals inside is banned,” said a
KMDA official.
The KMDA is the custodian of both Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar. Separate police teams will be deployed outside both these places. Entry of
visitors will be restricted
barring those on official duty.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has made arrangements at more than 40 ghats while KMDA, too, has identified close to 40 ghats across Mukundapur, Anandapur, East Kolkata Township in Kasba and at Lake Gardens where the rituals can be performed.
Like last year, only green firecrackers are allowed on Chhath and the crackers can only be burst between 6 am and 8 am. “DJ music” — the use of multiple loudspeakers to amplify noise — is banned.
