THE 90TH edition of Santosh Mitra Square’s Durga Puja, themed on ‘Operation Sindoor’, has drawn massive crowds following its inauguration by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday.

The puja’s theme commemorates India’s cross-border military strikes against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir after a terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam in April that claimed 26 civilian lives.

BJP councillor Sajal Ghosh, who is also the general secretary of the Puja committee, said the theme aims at awakening patriotism and paying tribute to the armed forces.

“Operation Sindoor is the voice of every Indian’s heart, showcasing our armed forces’ strength. Through this pandal, we wanted to pay tribute to our armed forces…,” Ghosh said.

Ghosh held a press conference on Saturday and claimed that they may close the puja due to “non- cooperation” on the part of the police.

“Every year we face police non-cooperation. They have closed a 40-foot road and moved crowds into smaller roads through 15-foot barricades. They know there will be agitation and there will be commotion. In such conditions it is not possible for us to continue puja. Religion is one’s own, but Utsav is for all. This time the police have not given any civic volunteers, as they feel they will support us. If this continues, we will have to close the pandal. That is not possible… They have alleged that there is a problem with the sound but I want to know who is facing the problem,” he said.

Ghosh further said that they will keep the pandal open and if the police were to stop them they would “switch off the lights and cover Ma Durga’s face with black cloth”. “We are not ready to play with the lives of people. If required we will give visarjan to Goddesses Durga before time, we have no other option,” he said.

“We have obtained permissions from KMC, PWD and police and installed 30–35 of the 60 CCTVs they asked for. The police have also put barricades in front of the stalls. If the police block our LED show or keep restricting stalls and sound, we’ll tell pandal-hoppers to watch the puja online instead. The government is against pujas. This targeting over sound meters and stalls goes against the CM’s own message that ‘Utsav is for all’, “ Ghosh alleged.

“The government has a problem with the mic sound….I want an investigation into which puja pandals have put sound metres,” he further said.

Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Verma on Saturday said that their aim is to prioritise public safety during Durga Puja festivities. “As far as I know, people are visiting the pandal. Our main priority is public safety and to ensure that the public is safe at all times. For that, the police has already given several directions… The rule is that there should be smooth movement of the crowd, if for any reason the crowd stops moving inside the pandal then a situation is created outside, which has to be avoided. For that the police are doing what they can but even the organisers are responsible and they have to take that responsibility. If any untoward incident occurs then the organisers will be liable. We have repeatedly informed the organisers that whatever they do they have to follow the law,” Verma said.

Light & Sound show

The pandal is designed to resemble Kashmir’s hills and meadows, with the Tricolour atop. A model Indian army tank emits smoke, and bomb sounds enhance the patriotic ambiance.

A light and sound show depicts the Pahalgam attack and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor, featuring actors and projections showing tourists, including the families of Bitan Adhikari and Sameer Guha, tourists from West Bengal, who were killed in the attack.

Huge crowds are flocking to see the three-minute light and sound show at the pandal, with many waiting over two hours for the evening spectacle. The projected scenes show tourists enjoying at Pahalgam.

Additionally, actors can be seen enacting Adhikari and Guha with their families: “Hello, I’m Bitan Adhikari from Patuli, and you are?”. “I’m Sameer Adhikari from Behala, I’ve come here with my family.”

The scene abruptly turns tragic as terrorists appear, opening fire as tourists flee in panic.

Later, the scene then shifts to Indian fighter jets striking Pakistani bases, followed by Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh briefing on Operation Sindoor.

The show concludes with patriotic fervour, echoing chants of Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata ki Jai. One of the visitors, Pritha Mondol, from Lake Town, said, “On chaturthi, (Friday) I waited in queue for close to two hours just to see the light and sound show. When I saw the show…the sound effects gave me goosebumps.”