Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday threatened to “block” Sujit Bose, chief organiser of the Durga puja at Sreebhumi Sporting Club in Lake Town, if traffic along VIP Road is affected during the festival.
“Sab cheye dushtumi korey Sujit Bose (Sujit Bose is the most mischievous). He does it (Durga puja) in such a manner that people can’t come from the airport. This time, I will tell police to ensure that the (traffic around the) airport is not disturbed. Sujit, you will have to see to it while organising the puja,” Mamata said.
“The transport system must remain functional. I’ll block you if the transport is blocked.”
The chief minister was addressing puja organisers at Netaji Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. Bose was among several ministers present on the occasion.
Over the past few years, traffic management and crowd control on VIP Road during Durga Puja have become a nightmare for the police with millions of people converging on the Sreebhumi Sporting Club premises every day.
Bose, the state’s minister in charge of fire and emergency services, is president of the club.
In 2021, the pandal, modelled on Burj Khalifa, had brought traffic to a halt on both flanks of VIP Road, Kolkata’s busiest link to the airport. On Ashtami, the pandal had to be shut to visitors because of the crowd surge.
“Crores of people come down during the puja. I understand your trick. All of them will visit you (your pandal) and not others’. You are the minister in charge of the fire brigade. You’ll have to keep in mind that many people commute around that time. So many come here from outside,” Mamata said on Tuesday.
Sreebhumi Sporting Club members said this year their theme is Disneyland and preparations “are on in full swing to make it grand”.
“Like previous years, this time, too, we expect huge footfall. There will be adequate number of volunteers, private security guards... to ensure traffic is not disrupted,” Bose told The Telegraph.
“Last year, there was no disruption. We hope it will be the same this time, too, with the help of the police.”
Puja dole
While rolling out a “to-do” list for the police and the puja committees, the chief minister announced an incentive of Rs 70,000 for all puja organisers, Rs 10,000 more than last year’s allotment.
She also declared that the organisers will have to pay just a fourth of their electricity bill.
A little over 40,000 puja organisers in Bengal will be receiving this incentive and waiver.
“We give incentives to clubs because they spread awareness and word on the welfare activities undertaken by the state government,” Mamata said.
“It’s not that we try to buy out these clubs with this incentive. We don’t have money. The state government is short of funds.”
The announcement was greeted with warm applause from representatives of the puja committees who attended the programme. Some of them even raised their hands in gratitude.
Through a video link, the chief minister was also addressing hundreds of puja organisers in the districts.
The carnival on Red Road will be held on October 27, a week after the official start of Puja on October 20, Sashthi.
Mamata said all puja committees, barring those who will be selected to participate in the carnival, can immerse their idols between October 24 and 26.
“The area around the place for immersion should be adequately lit and arrangements should be made to ensure there are enough doctors, nurses and ambulances in the hospitals nearby, “ Mamata said. “Helpline numbers should remain functional.”
Among the other things the chief minister insisted on was continuous messaging through the public address system during rush hours, deploying more volunteers to work with the police and keeping disaster management teams ready.
“Please share bhog/prasad with the residents of old-age homes in your respective areas. This is my suggestion,” Mamata said. “Since they stay alone, we want to share the joy with them.”
