Around 100 Durga Puja organisers will parade with their idols and performers on Red Road in a carnival on Friday evening.
On Thursday night, the organisers were busy with last-minute preparations: decking out the trailer trucks that will ferry the idols and rehearsing their shows.
The carnival is likely to continue from 4pm till 8pm.
Senior officers at Lalbazar said each puja committee has been assigned a sergeant for coordination. The sergeants will be responsible for facilitating the parking of the trailer trucks of the respective committees near Red Road ahead of the procession.
“Around 100 sergeants have been entrusted with this job. They are coordinating with the respective puja committees and guiding them on timings, venue and the formalities,” said an assistant commissioner of police.
The officer said each puja committee has been given a token number, based on which they will queue up near Red Road.
Singhi Park Sarbojanin Durga Puja, whose token number is 33, started for the carnival venue from Gariahat around 9.30pm on Thursday.
Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee, whose token number is 80, will head towards the venue around noon on Friday.
“We will take our vehicles to Red Road tomorrow (Friday),” said Surajit Kumar Dey, of Ahiritola Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee.
Jayanta Guchait of Singhi Park Sarbojanin Durga Puja said they had been asked to park their vehicles on Thursday night.
The police said they had made slots to accommodate the vehicles that will participate in the carnival.
“They will be parked at the Hastings crossing and Kidderpore Road and will be brought closer to the venue according to their token numbers,” an officer said.
Each puja committee is hiring multiple trucks and trailers for the event.
“We have one trailer for the Mother Goddess and four lorries for the other idols and the performers. We have been given two minutes to perform in front of the chief minister,” Guchait said.
Traffic on Red Road and the adjoining streets is likely to be affected from Friday morning till late at night.
Traffic restrictions
Red Road
- Will be closed to vehicular traffic from Thursday midnight till 9am on Friday for preparations for the carnival
- Vehicular movement may be restricted between 9am and 2pm on Friday
- Will be closed to traffic from 2pm till the end of the programme
Kidderpore Road
- Will be closed to vehicular traffic between the Hastings crossing and Lovers Lane,except for carnival-relatedvehicles, from 2pm till the end of the programme
Hospital Road
- Will be closed to vehicular traffic between Hospital Road and AJC Bose Road from2pm till the end of the programme
Mayo Road
- Only vehicles heading for the carnival venue, and with approved stickers attached to them, will be allowed along Mayo Road from the JL Nehru Road crossing after 2pm
Roads that will be completely closed from 2pm till the end of the programme
- Red Road
- Lovers Lane
- Queensway
- Plassey Gate Road
- Esplanade Ramp
No-parking
Parking will be prohibited on the following roads from Friday noon till the programme ends
- Government Place West (between RR Avenue and Esplanade Row West)
- Chowringhee Road
- JL Nehru Road
- Cathedral Road
- Queensway
- Mayo Road
- Strand Road
- Western flank of Bentinck Street (between CR Avenue and GC Avenue)
- RN Mukherjee Road (both sides)
- Hare Street
- Old Court House Street
Expected duration of the carnival: From 4pm till around 8pm
