Kolkata: Puja organisers in Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) and Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation (BMC) areas — Kolkata, Salt Lake and Rajarhat-Gopalpur — are in the process of dismantling Durga Puja pandals set up on roads and inside parks owned by the civic bodies. KMC had issued instructions that puja organisers will need to remove pandals from parks and grounds by Tuesday, and BMC had instructed clubs to do the same by Wednesday, failing which, a ground booking charge would be imposed on a daily basis. Organisers were also asked to remove all temporary banners within the same deadline, failing which, the civic bodies would impose penalties. KMC on Tuesday extended the deadline by 48 hours.The authorities had imposed the deadline also keeping in mind the possible impact of cyclone Arnab. However, while they race against time, most organisers are likely to miss the deadline.Most puja organisers in Salt Lake who set up pandals in community parks and vacant plots owned by BMC and the urban development department also organise Lakshmi Puja in the same pandals. They have now started removing the structures. However, barring a few, most will take a few more days to fully vacate the premises.“Lakshmi Puja was held on Sunday and the process to remove the pandal has started. It is practically not possible to dismantle and vacate the entire ground by Wednesday. We are ready to pay a daily ground booking charge if the authorities ask. The playground will be completely vacated within the next few days,” said an organiser of a Salt Lake puja.A few puja committees like Salt Lake’s BD Block dismantled their pandal a couple of days after Dashami as the Lakshmi puja was organised in a smaller pandal. “Our Durga Puja pandal was dismantled right after Dashami,” said a member of the BD Block puja committee.Similarly, puja organisers in Kolkata have pleaded helplessness. According to a well-known puja organiser in south Kolkata, the task of dismantling pandal structures from a park will not be possible by Wednesday. “We will need at least three more days to dismantle the huge structure. Then, it will take another two days to transport the pandal materials outside the park,” said the organiser, requesting anonymity.Additionally, in many places along the main thoroughfares in the city, Salt Lake and on VIP Road, banners and puja hoardings are still set up.
