The district administrations of Jalpaiguri, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur have made elaborate arrangements for the immersion of Durga idols.
In Jalpaiguri, the district administration is arranging idol immersions under
the surveillance of closed-circuit cameras at all immersion ghats. There are 65 ghats in four municipalities and various panchayats where the Durga idols will be immersed.
“Idols cannot be immersed outside designated ghats. Depending on the size of the ghat, four to 10 CCTV cameras will be installed. These cameras will be monitored via laptops and mobile devices by local police stations, BDOs, disaster management offices, and civil defence. No one will be allowed to walk into the rivers and streams,” said Shama Parveen, the district magistrate of Jalpaiguri.
In 2022, eight people died in a flash flood in the Mal river during the idol immersion.
“There is a risk of flash flood because of rainfall in the Mal river and also in the hilly rivers and streams which flow through Banarhat, Matiali, Malbazar and Nagrakata blocks,” said a source.
In North Dinajpur, the Raiganj municipality has begun preparations to implement various measures centred on the immersion of Durga idols in the town.
“From tomorrow (Thursday) until October 4, hundreds of idols will be immersed in the Kulik river in the Kharmujaghat and Bandar areas. To prevent accidents, we will deploy sufficient assistants at these ghats. They will collect idols from organisers on the riverbank and perform the immersion,” said Sandeep Biswas, chairperson of the board of administrators at the civic body.
“Additionally, divers and speedboats will be kept ready to rescue anyone who may drown,” he added.
In Balurghat, the district headquarters of South Dinajpur, it has been decided that idols will be immersed in specified rivers and ponds identified by police.