Durga Puja is just nine days away and West Bengal Police has started prepping to control the festive crowd. Suburban crowds start hitting the streets of Kolkata to visit the pandals right from day one of Navratri after Mahalaya, even before Durga Puja begins.

As part of preparation for crowd management, West Bengal Police has announced that an additional 10 to 15 thousand police are being deployed. Not only during the puja, extra attention will be paid to post Puja Carnival hosted by the state government, said ADG (Law and Order) of West Bengal Police, Javed Shamim.

Talking to the media on Friday, ADG Shamim informed that police will be deployed in different parts of the state from Mahalaya which is on September 21. He said, “Forces have been deployed according to the number of Durga Puja pandals in each district. At least 10 to 15 thousand police personnel will be on the roads across districts during the festival. Meanwhile, the headquarter and all other forces are being kept ready. In addition, we will deploy additional home guards, NCC and also engage the local youths for crowd management. All measures have been taken to ensure smooth flow of traffic from Mahalaya till Kojagari Lakshmi puja (October 6).”

The state government organises a carnival with the idols every year after Durga puja. A large number of police will be deployed to prevent any untoward situation during the carnival which attracts huge crowds.

Braille Guide Published for the Visually Impaired at Durga Puja pandals

Meanwhile, ‘Braille Puja Guide’ was inaugurated at Rotary Sadan on Friday so that the visually impaired can visit various pandals in Kolkata during Puja without any help. The guide will be accompanied by a Braille display stand. This initiative jointly taken by the Education and Cultural Centre for the Visually Impaired (NIP), Rotary Club and a private school, has been running since 2011.

Through this Braille guide, the visually impaired will be able to know what theme is being held in which Puja pandal in the city. Along with that, if there is a Braille display stand in a puja pandal, they can learn about the theme of the respective pandal, decoration of the idol and other necessary information from there. Durga puja committees across the city have been requested to put the theme of the puja on the Braille display board next to their pandal.

Talking about the initiative, Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “In Kolkata, Durga Puja festival means so many people, so much light. But we have to provide an opportunity for those who have lost their eyesight so that they can also enjoy the festival with excitement and enthusiasm.”

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