The Calcutta High Court has ordered that all Durga Puja pandals in the state shall be turned into no-entry zones.
File photo of a Durga Puja pandal. (Photo: M Zhazo/India Today)
Just three days ahead of the festival of Durga Puja, Calcutta High Court has ordered all Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal to be turned into ‘no entry zones’ for visitors.
High Court ordered that only organisers can enter the pandal and the name of the organisers should be mentioned outside the pandal. A maximum of 25 members will be allowed inside the pandal premises.
These names and numbers have to be fixed and cannot change every day, the court said.
A division bench of Justice Sanjib Banerjee & Justice Arijit Banerjee gave the order of new restrictions which comes into effect immediately.
Judges also expressed their disappointment that the State government did not come up with a plan to implement the guidelines issued by them to contain the spread of coronavirus during the festivities.
The puja pandal will be treated as a containment zone, the order further stated. Judges have also asked the police personnel to ensure that the orders are implemented by the organizers.