Kolkata: The KMDA on Monday started work to develop 18 temporary ghats and spruce up infrastructure at the 22 permanent ghats located in the different ponds and water bodies across the city for Chhath Puja, which is scheduled for Nov 7 and 8. The KMDA, however, chose to leave out the waterbody in Bengal Lamps Limited, which moved Calcutta High Court against it.
Bengal Lamp told HC that for the past three years, the KMDA has been posting advertisements on newspapers inviting people for performing Chhath Puja in the premises of the water body which is a portion of their scheduled property and amounts to trespassing. This is polluting the water body, and due to it they have faced prosecutions from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. The HC on Monday asked KMDA to file a report on usage of a water body within the premises of Bengal Lamps Limited by Oct 30.
Both Rabindra and Subhas Sarobar will remain closed during Chhath to prevent the entry of devotees to observe the ritual.
The 18 temporary ghats identified for observing the Chhath ritual this year include one ghat at Govindan Kutty Park at Golf Garden, five ghats at Jodhpur Park at Dhakuria, two ghats at Nababrindaban Pond at Regent Estate, one ghat at 10 No. Pukur, one ghat at Dhanmath near Garden High School in Kasba, three ghats at Mithetala water body near DPS Kasba, one ghat at Indu Park Kasba, and four ghats at the KMDA water body in R R Colony near Ruby.
The authorities will be sprucing up 22 permanent ghats that have been set up for observing Chhath. These include five ghats at Ramdhan Park in Golf Garden, one ghat each at Govindan Kutty Park, Golf Garden, and Mandartala Jheel at Tollygunge, two ghats each at Layelka Pond in Regent Estate, Katjunagar in Bikramgarh, and Dhanmath at Kasba. There will be one ghat each at 10 No. Pukur, Indu Park at Kasba, and the Patuli water body near Satyajit Ray Park. Additionally, there will be six permanent ghats at the Nonadanga KMDA water body.