Most puja organisers, including some of the big committees, immersed their idols on Friday, ahead of the state’s Saturday deadline, despite delays caused by the manual movement of idols on trolleys and low tides.
Many kept the processions simple, doing away with the usual music, fanfare and celebrations that mark the final leg of the festivities. Organisers said the Chorebagan stampede, in which 19 people were killed, had left them deeply shaken.
“There were no band players, no processions and no ensemble. The dhakis who played at our pandal were on the truck along with a handful of committee members,” said Kajal Sarkar of the Bosepukur Sitala Mandir puja committee. “We wrapped up the immersion by late afternoon. It took us just about an hour. The Chorebagan incident has shattered the spirit of celebration.”
Police created four lanes on Eden Gardens Road, leading to the ghats, to prevent congestion and help organisers identify the routes to their destinations.
“Two separate lanes have been made for vehicles headed to Baje Kadamtala ghat, one for Gwalior ghat, and the fourth has been left open for emergency movement,” a senior Kolkata Police officer said. The two lanes for Baje Kadamtala were meant to accommodate more vehicles and prevent congestion on Red Road, the officer added.
Vehicles carrying idols were asked to wait until the structures were unloaded near their designated ghats and then leave. Only a handful of committee members accompanying each idol were allowed to proceed for the final immersion.
Idols have to be transferred from trucks to trolleys and then carried to the river, a process that takes time.
“Late in the evening, there was a huge rush at both Gwalior and Baje Kadamtala ghats,” said a senior member of a central Calcutta puja committee.
Mohammad Ali Park in central Calcutta was among the committees that opted for a silent immersion on Friday evening, with no drums or band parties.
“This was a way to respect the departed in the Chorebagan incident,” said Surendra Kumar Sharma, the committee’s general secretary.
By late Friday evening, more than 200 immersions had been completed at over 25 ghats along the Hooghly, senior state administration officials said.
“Around 7.30pm, as low tide set in, several committees were asked to delay their arrival to prevent congestion and long waits,” a senior Kolkata Police officer overseeing the immersions said.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation deployed labourers to speed up the movement of idols from trucks to the ghats.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nand said puja committees also arranged their own workers to help.
“Committees arriving for visarjan bring their own labourers and also coordinate with those waiting at the ghats to facilitate the immersion. That is how it works,” Nand said. “Police maintain law and order.”
Senior police officers said turnout at the ghats, which had been subdued on Thursday, peaked on Friday. Kolkata Police strengthened its deployment, including with personnel from the National Disaster Response Force.
“The number of immersions on Saturday would be just a handful,” a senior officer said. “There have been no deaths due to drowning, and we want to keep it that way.”