COVID-19 scare: No visitors allowed into Durga Puja pandals, says Calcutta High Court

For second year, Durga Puja pandals have been made no-entry zones for members of the public in West Bengal to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection due to crowding.

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Friday (October 1) ordered that all pandals in West Bengal, where Durga Puja will be held this year, be made no-entry zones for members of the public, as was directed last year, to curb the spread of Covid-19 infection due to crowding.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj passed the order on a PIL seeking a direction to the West Bengal government to make proper arrangements so that there is no large gathering during the Durga Puja festival at different places.

The counsel for the petitioners referred to orders passed by the high court on October 19 and 21 in 2020 in this regard, submitting that the same protocols be followed for the current year as well in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus that has claimed several thousand lives in the state since its outbreak in March last year.