In a set back for Mamata Banerjee government, the Calcutta High Court on Monday regulated Durga Puja celebrations in view of coronavirus pandemic. While pulling up the Trinamool Congress government for having no clear crowd control plan amidst COVID-19 outbreak during the upcoming Durg Puja festival, the high court ordered that all Durga Puja pandals across the state be declared no-entry zones. The high court bench, comprising of Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee, stated that a maximum of 25 people should be allowed in big pandals and 15 in the smaller ones. As per the HC order, only the organisers of Durga Puja will be allowed to enter the pandals and no visitors will be allowed to enter the marquees. The members entering the pandals will have to mention the names and place it outside the entrance. Slamming the Bengal government, the Calcutta High Court said it’s disappointing that the state did not come up with a plan to implement the guidelines issued by them in regards to the celebrations of Durg Puja. Notably, around 34,000 Durga Puja pandals are constructed around the state. All the pandals have been directed to be barricaded in order to prevent large gathering. The HC said that five metres beyond the extremity of the pandal and 10 meters beyond the bigger pandals should be barricaded.
