Suman Chatterjee
President, Babubagan Sarbojanin Durgotsab, Dhakuria

Yes, the grandeur will be affected. If there are restrictions on sizes of the pandal and the idol, what else do you expect? Already, the fire brigade has too many regulations. They want pandals to be made of non-combustible materials. Should we use concrete then? Thousands of pujas happen in Calcutta. How many fires break out? We are careful ourselves. But problems arise if rules are imposed on us. The requirement, I hear, is leaving 50 ft space on both sides and 100 ft at the back of the pandal. So should pujas take place in the middle of the road? I am lucky to have a park, but what about those who hold puja on the streets? The glamour of Puja is in producing grand works of art. If we fail to live up to expectations, they will shun us.