Calcutta High Court orders all Durga Puja pandals in Bengal be declared no-entry zones

For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court ordered. There should be no-entry boards on the barricades, it said. The court also ordered that only 15 to 25 persons belonging to the organising committees will be allowed to enter the pandals.

PTI, 19 October 2020, Calcutta: Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered that all Durga Puja pandals across the state be declared no-entry zones to prevent the spread of Covid-19. 

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee, hearing a public interest litigation, said that no visitors will be allowed to enter the marquees. 

For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court ordered. 

There should be no-entry boards on the barricades, it said. 

The court also ordered that only 15 to 25 persons belonging to the organising committees will be allowed to enter the pandals. 

HT | Edited by Arpan Rai | Oct 19, 2020  : All Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal have virtually been declared no-entry zones by Calcutta High Court which ordered a ban on pandal hopping on Monday due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). Only organisers can enter the pandals and names of people allowed to enter have to be displayed outside it, the order from the high court said.

The order comes amid heightened fervour and enthusiasm among people to celebrate the five-day long Durga Puja festival, starting Tuesday.

The state’s death toll went past the 6,000-mark on Sunday with 64 more fatalities, even as a record number of 3,983 fresh cases pushed the tally to 3.21 lakh.

In West Bengal, Durga Puja is celebrated in a grand manner with increased participation from the state government. Every year, nearly 37,000 pandals are set up and bring an economic boom.