Puja committees in Siliguri make open pandals after Calcutta High Court’s order

Abiding by the order of the Calcutta High Court which restricted the entry of visitors in puja pandals, the puja committees in North Bengal made open pandals this year. A bamboo fence has been erected at a certain distance in front of each pandal. The organizers said they would follow the High Court’s order.  

The Calcutta High Court on Monday (October 19) ordered that Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal will be out of bounds for the visitors “in public interest”. After the order was passed, all the puja committees were worried about the situation. But to a great surprise, the puja committees of North Bengal seemed to be ready for this situation.

On Wednesday (October 21) morning, open pandals were seen in most parts of Siliguri. Ma Durga and her children were seen in those open pandals. And in accordance with the order of the High Court, a bamboo fence has been erected at a certain distance in front of each pandal. The organizers said they would abide by the High Court order. The guidelines issued by the state government suggested the preparation of open pandals. Therefore, the organizers are leaning towards making open pandals.

The Calcutta High Court on Monday (October 19) ruled in public interest litigation that visitors should not be allowed to enter any of the Durga Puja pandals in Bengal. Only the organizers can stay in the pandal. However, not more than 15 to 20 people can crowd in the pandal at a time. The court ruled that the verdict was to prevent an outbreak of the COVID-19 infection.

However, minister Subrata Mukherjee and Firhad Hakim, as well as the organizers of the big puja in Kolkata, could not openly accept the verdict of the court. Subrata Mukherjee has directly said that he cannot forbid the visitors to come to the pandal. While the BJP welcomed the verdict, it expressed doubts about whether the government would comply with the order.