A Kolkata Police team inspected around 12 Durga Puja pandals, which were at different stages of preparation on Tuesday. They advised the organisers to prioritise contingency plans in the event of rain and to ensure a seamless flow of visitors.
The police wanted the organisers to make adequate arrangements to prevent waterlogging around the pandals.
Met officials have said a new weather system is likely to form over the Bay of Bengal around September 20, a day before Mahalaya. Whether or not the system will bring heavy rain to south Bengal will be known in a day or two.
Tuesday's inspection also included representatives from the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), PWD, CESC and fire and emergency services.
"Please ensure that the accumulated water moves out fast, the drains around the pandal are not clogged, and the entry and exits are secured to prevent any mishap because of rain," a senior officer told one of the organisers.
Among the puja venues they visited were Suruchi Sangha, Chetla Agrani, Bosepukur Sitala Mandir, Behala Natundal, Natala Udayan Sangha, and Ajey Sanghati.
Rain poses multiple challenges to the circulation of both the puja crowd and the traffic. If the grounds around the pandals or the exits and the entries are waterlogged, pandal hoppers struggle to move. Waterlogged roads or small pools of water on thoroughfares inevitably slow down the traffic.
"We were asked to make adequate arrangements for rain so the water drains out fast. The team also asked about the materials that have been used for the pandal and whether fire prevention norms have been followed," said Sandipan Banerjee, convenor of Behala Natun Dal puja committee.
Several puja committees were asked to deploy additional volunteers to ensure a smooth circulation of the crowd during peak hours.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had stressed the need to engage more volunteers for better crowd management during her interaction with Puja organisers at Netaji Indoor Stadium on July 31. At that gathering, she announced a hike in the puja grant for organisers from ₹85,000 to ₹1.1 lakh.
On Tuesday, the police team instructed some of the Puja organisers to ensure there were separate entries and exits for visitors.
"We had arranged for the visitors to split into two sections on the left and right after entering the pandal and reaching the Durga idol. The police instructed us to keep the visitors in a single file so that the exit is smooth," said Kajal Sarkar of Bosepukur Sitalamandir Durgostav.
Over the next few days, the joint inspection team is scheduled to visit more pandals to check their preparedness.
The chief minister is likely to begin inaugurating pandals from September 20, a senior Kolkata Police officer said.