Sanitisation tunnels, bio-toilets set up at Kolkata's Kumartuli amid safety concerns

KOLKATA: With shutterbugs and Durga puja organisers making a beeline outside the alleys of Kumartuli, the city's idol-making hub, two sanitisation tunnels have been installed at its entrance points and six bio-toilets at various other locations in the one-square-kilometre colony.

A large contactless hand-washing unit has also been set up in the potters' quarter, which houses at least 200 workshops, Sujit Paul, an office-bearer of Mritshilpo Sanskriti Samiti (KMSS), one of the two representative bodies of clay modellers in the area, told PTI.

"As Durga puja is just a month away, the colony, which has remained COVID-free all these months, is now buzzing with activities. A corporate group, along with a mediahouse, has taken this initiative to install sanitisation tunnels, bio- toilets and a hand-washing unit to ensure the safety of potters and visitors," Paul said.

All artisans have been asked to wash their hands at regular intervals, and a public address system is in place to generate awareness among the visitors, he said.

"Many labourers from districts, who had gone home during the lockdown, did not return amid safety concerns. The artisans, this time, have received 40 per cent less orders when compared to the year before. But their hands are full owing to the dearth of labourers," Paul added.