In festive season, Durga Puja gates & pandals breed mosquitoes, diseases
Times of India | 15 October 2025are now being flagged as potential health hazards. Rainwater trapped inside their bamboo-and-polythene frames has turned them into mosquito breeding grounds, heightening the risk of dengue and malaria across Kolkata.
KMC has already issued advisories to puja committees to dismantle the gates soon after idol immersions, but many remain in place nearly a fortnight later. "We told puja organisers to dismantle them immediately after immersion, but gates are still standing in many places. Apart from traffic congestion, they are now adding to the public health problem in malaria and dengue season," said a senior KMC health department officer.
At the crossing of Roy Bahadur Road and Brojen Mukherjee Road, locals drew the attention of journalists to how the box-like frame has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Health experts point out that the problem is not new. The cut ends of bamboo poles used in pandal and gate construction often collect rainwater. The box-like frames wrapped in polythene sheets also trap water, creating numerous stagnant pockets — ideal conditions for Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits dengue.
Add to that the festival clutter of discarded cups, plastic, and wrappers, and the risk multiplies.
Municipal vector-control teams have been carrying out inspections and urging organisers to follow preventive measures. Puja committees have been advised to seal bamboo ends with mud or cloth, clear low-lying water, and allow regular inspections.
"These gates act as bottlenecks, narrowing the carriageway and reducing road capacity, especially during peak office hours," said a senior traffic sergeant. Even after the Puja festivities are over, the structures continue to occupy vital road space, forcing buses, cars, and two-wheelers to crawl past them.
