Kolkata Police stop visitors to Burj Khalifa Durga Puja pandal
Police unveiled the Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, modeled on the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, out of people’s limits on Wednesday night as a large gathering before they threaten public health safety in the Covid situation, an official said. The Bidhannagar Police Station action came a day after the Sreebhumi Sports Club headed by West Bengal Fire Minister Sujit Bose suspended its laser show for attracting large crowds to the pandal. Police personnel has vacated the entire stretch near the pandal, preventing the crowd from going there. The area seemed deserted at around 11.30 WIB. The decision was taken due to uncontrolled crowds near pandal Puja threatening public health safety in the Covid situation, a police official said. A spokesperson for the Puja committee said the police made the decision unilaterally without consulting them, suddenly asking the crowd that had gathered in the lane before the pandals to leave at 10.30pm.
The laser show at pandal was suspended on Wednesday night after a massive rally that sparked fears of the spread of COVID19. While some reports stated that the Sreebhumi Sporting Club laser show had been suspended after several pilots complained of impaired vision due to it, the organizers of the Puja located near NSC Bose International Airport said the measure was taken because the crowd did not move forward, creating a risk for Covid and security. We had to postpone our laser show on Saturday night (Tuesday) because the crowd didn’t listen to our request to continue. They stood on the path in front of the tent and watched the show to the end. This creates COVID and a security risk,” Dibyendu Goswami told reporters on behalf of the organizers on Wednesday morning.
The 150-foot-tall tent, which imitates the 828-meter-high Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, is the biggest attraction among revelers. year. The puja committee had planned a slow and continuous revelry movement along the road to the pandal. The laser show was stopped after consultation with the police and state administration. Meanwhile, the inside of the pandal was barricaded in accordance with an order of the High Court of Calcutta which made all areas of detention tents, revelers entered from one end of the pathway where the structure was erected and exited the other but the narrow stretch became overcrowded during the laser show.
The Minister had previously made his pandal themes on the set of the films Bahubali and Padmavat, and the Jagannath temple in Puri, emphasizing opulence and opulence and spectacle to attract crowds.