Kolkata: For the second year in a row, visitors will not be allowed to enter Durga Puja pandals and the premises will be treated as containment zones in view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The same will be applicable for Kali Puja pandals as well.
The Calcutta High Court had issued similar directives last year as well and Friday’s order is seen as a repetition of the previous one.
A division bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Kumar Bindal made the observation while hearing a PIL filed to impose last year’s restrictions during Durga Puja to contain the spread of Covid-19. The court also said that all the restrictions imposed last year will remain this time as well.
The court ordered barricades to be put up five-metre before the entrance for small pandals while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, The Indian Express reported.
There should be No Entry boards at the barricades. Like the previous year, the court also ordered that only 15 to 25 persons of the puja organising committees will be allowed to enter the pandals. The court had also directed organisers to distribute masks and sanitisers to the visitors and engage in awareness campaigns.
