Best pujas, check. No queues, check. Social distance, check.
Calcutta’s top pujas have come together for a project that would allow visitors access to the pandals without waiting in queues and by maintaining social distance.
The project is not some virtual tour and people will very much be able to visit the pandals in person. All one has to do is buy an e-pass that would pre-book slots at 41 big-ticket pujas in the city.
The Forum for Durgotsab presents Puja ePass, partnered by The Telegraph, was formally launched on Wednesday.
An e-pass for a single person costs Rs 236. The maximum number of persons for whom passes can be booked at one go is 20. On offer is a bouquet of 41 top pujas of the city, where visits can be planned in advance. The pujas can be visited on five days, from Panchami to Navami. Each day has been divided into four six-hour slots.
The booking process is simple (see chart). After a person books the slots, the link of a QR code will be sent to his registered e-mail address. The code has to be displayed at the entry points of the pandals.
“There will be an exclusive gate for e-pass holders. They will undergo a thermal scanning before entering the pandal. They do not have to wait in queues. The idea is to plan in advance and have a safe tour, by maintaining proper Covid-19 protocols,” said Saswata Basu, general secretary of the forum, an association of over 350 Durga Pujas in and around Calcutta.
Basu is also the convener of Hatibagan Sarbojonin Durgostav Committee, one of the 41 pujas that have collabo-rated in the project.
“There will be a cap on passes issued for each slot so that the number of visitors is manageable. Restricted entry, no queue and fixed timings make this a safe venture, in keeping with the guidelines of the state government,” said another organiser managing the back-end operations of the project.
Gearing up: Calcutta police commissioner Anuj Sharma at the Mohammad Ali Park Durga Puja pandal on Thursday. Only those wearing masks should be allowed inside pandals, Sharma instructed his force after inspecting some pandals in south and central Calcutta on Thursday. Sharma asked his officers to ensure that the puja committees make adequate arrangements for hand sanitisers, everyone wears a mask and social distancing is enforced in shopping areas before Durga Puja. The top cop asked the officers in charge of police stations to ensure regular announcements are made in market areas to create awareness about wearing masks and sanitising hands. Sharma also visited Deshapriya Park, Chetla Agrani, Suruchi Sangha, Naktala Udayan Sangha and the College Square Sarbojanin puja pandals. Sanat Kr Sinha
The system is also convenient for large groups and people who come from outside Calcutta, he said.
The Covid-19 pandemic had cast a cloud on Bengal’s biggest carnival this year. The puja organisers were doubtful of being able to go ahead with the festivities. But on September 25, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had laid out the plan for Durga Puja 2020, issuing guidelines from inauguration to immersion.
The directives, issued keeping the spread of Covid-19 in mind, include spacious pandals, low-key inaugurations, pandal-hopping between Tritiya and Ekadashi and staggered timings for anjali and sindoor khela.
“The e-pass system is unique and useful. We are used to having around five lakh visitors each day during the Puja. Even if there are a few thousand e-pass holders in a fixed time slot, managing them with due social distancing protocols will not be tough for us,” said Partho Ghosh, general secretary of Shibmandir Sarbojonin Durgotsab, one of the popular pujas of south Calcutta.
