Only green firecrackers, no DJ music: Chhath Puja rituals at 150-plus venues in city
Telegraph | 31 October 2024
Chhath Puja can be performed at more than 150 ghats in the Calcutta municipal area, sources in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said on Wednesday after a meeting at the civic headquarters where officials of various agencies discussed preparations for the annual festival.
This year the Chhath rituals will be performed on November 7 evening and the next morning.
Like last year, only green firecrackers are allowed on Chhath, said an official of the state pollution control board. And the crackers can only be burst between 6am and 8am.
“DJ music”, which refers to the use of multiple loudspeakers to amplify noise, is banned, the official said. Devotees have been advised to not pour oil and ghee into the water.
The National Green Tribunal has prohibited Chhath rituals at Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar, two of Calcutta’s largest parks with water bodies.
In 2018, thousands of worshippers had performed the Chhath rituals on the Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar premises despite prohibitory orders.
Some of the devotees broke open the locks on the gates of Rabindra Sarobar and the administration did not make any effort to stop them. No Chhath rituals have been held at Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar since 2019.
Mayor Firhad Hakim, who chaired Wednesday’s meeting, said the police have been told to widely circulate word about the ghats around Rabindra Sarobar so people know where to go for the rituals.
“Rabindra Sarobar will remain closed. There is a pond near Bengal Lamp (in Jadavpur) where the rituals can no longer be performed. People should not reach those spots and realise that the rituals are banned there. They should know in advance about alternative ghats in the area,” Hakim said after the meeting.
Officials at the meeting said rituals were allowed in the Jadavpur water body till last year but have been banned this year. “We have many ponds in the area and there will be artificial ponds in some places where one can perform the rituals,” said a KMC official.
“There will be 27 ghats along the Hooghly where the Chhath rituals can be performed. Besides, there are multiple ponds where devotees can go for the puja. The KMC and the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority will make the necessary arrangements at the ghats,” said a KMC official.
Calcutta High Court had in an order in 2023 said: “In the state of West Bengal, only green crackers can be sold and bursting of such crackers shall be allowed for... two hours during Chhath Puja from 6am to 8am”.
The only way to identify a green cracker is by scanning the QR code on the box. Any scanner can be used for the verification.
On scanning the code, a certificate should be generated mentioning the name and nature of the fireworks, the name and address of the manufacturer, the chemical composition of the fireworks and the percentage of reduction in emission, a police officersaid.