A rehearsal ahead of Durga Puja Carnival on Red Road in Kolkata on Friday. (Express Photo by Partha Paul)The Durga Puja carnival will be held at Red Road in Kolkata on Saturday amid tight security after a gap of two years.
About 100 Durga Puja committees will take part in the carnival, showcasing their idols in colourful tableaux accompanied by their members performing cultural programmes. For the last two years, the Durga Puja carnival could not be held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
About 2,500 police personnel and 1,200 firefighters will be deployed near the venue.
A traffic advisory said several roads in the city will remain closed on Saturday. “A notice is hereby given for the information of commuters that due to the carnival, Red Road, Khidderpore Road, Lovers Lane, Hospital Road (North bound), Queens Way, Esplanade Ramp, Plassey Gate Road and Mayo Road will be closed for some time for vehicular traffic on Saturday,” read the notice.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, state ministers, senior government officials, dignitaries from foreign embassies, consulates and the UNESCO will be present on the occasion. This year the state government is celebrating UNESCO’s recognition to Kolkata’s Durga Puja following its inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December last year.
Police have issued a set of guidelines for puja organisers who will attend the carnival.
It has been decided that every puja committee will decorate only three tableaux and showcase their programme for three minutes. Each club or puja committee can arrange a precession but the number of participants will not br more than 50. The Durga idol, including the height of vehicle, should not be more than 16 feet tall.
The event will start with a performance by Kolkata Police’s ‘Daredevil’ force followed by a performance by the dance troupe of Dona Ganguly, wife of former Indian cricket team captain and current BCCI president Sourav Ganguly. Since Donna was released from hospital last night after she was infected with chikungunya, she will not be able to perform in the carnival. However, about 300 students of her dance school will perform as scheduled. “The doctors have advised me not to perform for next two weeks as I am still weak. But my group of dancers will perform tomorrow. I might be present at the event but will not be able to perform,” said Dona who visited the carnival venue on Friday afternoon.
The state government has directed that only green crackers will be allowed during the carnival processions.
The district administration of Jalpaiguri in north Bengal decided to cancel the celebrations after the tragedy on the immersion day in which eight persons were killed in a flash flood in the Mal river. Some Durga Puja carnivals were held on Friday in various districts.