Restrictions on the movement of goods vehicles in Calcutta will come into effect from Tritiya that falls on September 25, Kolkata Police said in a notification.
It is a departure from the police’s earlier practice of setting Puja traffic curbs from Chaturthi.
The restrictions on the movement of goods vehicles will come into effect from 6am on September 25 and be in place till midnight that day.
Over the next six days, the restrictions will set in at different times in the morning and remain in force past midnight.
The restrictions on the movement of goods vehicles shall be “in the interest of public safety and convenience”, the notification says.
Movement of vehicular traffic on several roads across north, central, south, southeast, southwest and south suburban Calcutta will also be restricted beginning Tritiya. It will come into effect from 4pm.
On September 21, Mahalaya, no goods vehicles, barring those carrying oxygen, vegetables, CNG, medicines, fish and fruits, will be allowed to enter the city from 3am to 10pm.
“Over the past few years, there has been a trend among pandal hoppers to start early. Since crowd management remains the biggest challenge on these festive days, it was decided that restrictions on traffic movements should start as early as Tritiya,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said.
The notification— issued by the Kolkata Traffic Police and signed by Manoj Verma, city police commissioner — states that beginning October 2 till October 5, when immersions are scheduled, vehicles not connected with immersion processions on all roads and thoroughfares will be restricted from moving between 8am and 5am the next day.
Movement of vehicles on Hazra Road, Nepal Bhattacharjee Street, Sadananda Road and Kalighat Road shall be closed on Ashtami, September 30 and Dashami on October 2 for the convenience of visitor to the Kalighat Temple.
Some of the major thoroughfares that will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning Tritiya afternoon and continue till Navami, include BKPaul Avenue in the north, B.B. Ganguly Street in central.
In south, Ekdalia Road, Dover Lane, Hindusthan Road and Ramani Chatterjee Road and in southwest, Roy Bahadur Road in between James Long Sarani and Diamond Harbour Road.