Cop letters to central Kol crowd-pullers on puja pandal themes
Times of India | 25 July 2024
Kolkata: Cops have begun calling up major puja organizers to ask about their themes for this year’s Durga Puja. In certain cases, local police have even identified pandals that have reported issues in the recent past and sent letters instructing organizers to follow basic rules. Cops also invited suggestions from organizers for better crowd circulation.
One of the first to receive this letter was the Santosh Mitra Square puja.“We have sent a letter to the organizers based on our study of crowd movement in the past two years,” an officer said.
This time, the theme will be the famous light sphere of Las Vegas and the puja committee has released a video showing various light displays. Sajal Ghosh, an organizer of the puja and a BJP leader, expressed displeasure over multiple restrictions in the cops’ letter. “There are many big pujas in Kolkata but cops have not imposed such conditions on any other committee. Why only me? The reason is obvious.”
Sources said local OCs have also reached out to two organizers in the Deshapriya Park area and Behala and informed them about spot visits before the local coordination meeting begins.
An officer said a general instruction has been issued against use of laser lights.