More than 575 idols had been immersed at the immersion ghat in New Town till late on Thursday evening.
The number is way more than the 387 last year or 250 the year before, according to figures shared by the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA), the agency that maintains the immersion ghat and oversees the process.
The rush this year forced the NKDA to requisition additional cranes and labourers.
The ghat this year turned out to be the immersion destination for a number of pujas outside New Town, too.
The organisers of many pujas in Salt Lake, Rajarhat, Dum Dum, Baguiati and Madhyamgram chose to immerse their idols there to avoid the long drive to the Hooghly and the long queues along the banks there.
"This year we had a far higher number of trucks driving in with idols to be immersed than we had expected. We had to call extra gangs of labourers as well as cranes to ensure that the immersion process went on smoothly," NKDA chairman Debashis Sen said.
The immersion ghat in New Town, named Upasana, is built around a natural canal.
The NKDA has placed separate colour-coded bins for bio-degradable and non-biodegradable waste at the ghat.
Those accompanying the idols were directed to drop all their waste in the colour-coded bins before the immersion.
The idols were lowered into the water through the permanent ramps at the ghat. Soon after each immersion, the idol was lifted with a crane to ensure the paint did not mix with the water.
Tapas Sengupta, secretary of Salt Lake's AE Block Samaj Kalyan Sangha (AE part II) Durgotsav Committee, said at the Hooghly ghats, they had to negotiate and shout with labourers to unload the idols from the truck and carry them to the water.
"Nothing like that had to be done at the New Town ghat. The whole process was so smooth," said Sengupta.
"All the arrangements were in place. The moment our truck arrived, we were directed to a counter where our details were recorded and we were asked to wait for our turn. As soon as our trucks neared the ghat, a team of labourers unloaded the idols and took them to the ramp from where the immersions were taking place. It was a hassle-free experience for us.”
The police and the NKDA had made provisions for four different lanes for immersions to take place simultaneously.
