Cop focus on parking as new pujas gear up to compete with biggies
Times of India | 21 August 2025
Kolkata: With several new Durga Puja pandals across the city positioning themselves as possible top draws this year, the Kolkata Traffic Police is coordinating with local police to identify the fresh parking spots that can handle the increased footfall in these pandals.
According to Lalbazar sources, at least seven puja pandals have been identified where we are expecting at least a 50%-80% jump in the number of revellers.
"The challenge lies in finding space for both vehicular and pedestrian flow, as well as parking, as many of the new attractions are sandwiched between popular ones. Among them are newer ones at Chetla and Alipore, a highly congested zone during pujas, and Ultadanga-Maniktala, which also have a large number of established pujas. The other big draws have been identified at Kidderpore, Behala, and Santoshpur — all of which already have major pandals in the vicinity. In addition, multiple big pujas will be celebrating their jubilee years, including Tala Prattay and Behala Natun Dal. Hence, we need to be ready," reminded a DCP.
All traffic guards have been asked to prepare their traffic circulation reports regarding the newbies by the end of next week. "On Wednesday, we instructed all traffic guards to send us a list of alternative parking spots, which we will vet by the end of this month," said a senior cop at Lalbazar.
Cops acknowledged that parking near pandals still remains a serious issue. "The key is to ensure there is no illegal parking that could eat up road space, especially in these key zones. From Chaturthi, we adopt the chase-and-challan policy," said a DCP at Lalbazar.
"Parking lots should be marked clearly," said Dhruba Guha of Behala. "No cop could guide me to the official parking zones on RB Avenue last year. They just asked me to keep driving. Am I expected to park at Gariahat to come to the Tridhara Sammilani pandal even this year?" Guha wondered.