Adamant devotees toss NGT order aside, break open half dozen gates to go inside Rabindra Sarovar

Kolkata: Devotees observed Chhath Puja at Rabindra Sarovar on Saturday afternoon, breaking open the locks of half a dozen gates leading to the waterbody, violating the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT).

The NGT had imposed a ban on all puja activities at the lake to prevent pollution and the state government had made arrangements for more than a dozen ghats in close proximity to the lake for observing rituals of the puja.

Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of the waterbody, admitted that puja is being performed at the waterbody and said that they will submit a report to the state Chief Secretary in this regard by Sunday.

"We are talking to concerned officials and we will see what can be done," a senior KMDA official said. It has been learnt that the police is also mulling legal action against the violators. However, environmentalists alleged that police presence at the gates of the waterbody was nil and the devotees virtually faced no resistance from the private security guards deployed at the gates as they broke open the locks at six gates and performed puja at the lake.

There are 15 gates leading to the Sarovar and the KMDA had kept all gates under lock and key from Friday evening.

In the morning, a section of people came to the gate just opposite Menoka cinema hall, broke open the lock and entered the lake premises to make arrangements for the puja. They also pulled down banners at the gate put up by KMDA for awareness regarding the NGT order and the alternative ghats developed by the government.

Sometime later, they repeated their act as they broke the lock of the gate beside Golpark Ramkrishna Mission. Their number in both the cases proved to be much higher than the few security guards who were on duty at the gates. Soon after the incidents, some police personnel reached the spot with a section of devotees adamant about observing Chhath Puja in the lake.

In the afternoon they returned again and with no police resistance around, had a hassle-free entry into the Sarovar.

The ghats developed by KMDA in coordination with Kolkata Municipal Corporation also witnessed presence of a large number of devotees performing Chhath Puja.