Durga Puja 2020 duty was in many ways different from other years for police, several officers said. An inspector posted in the central division of Calcutta police shares his new normal with The Telegraph

Home early

Puja duty would usually mean standing for 12 hours at a stretch and not returning home before 5am the next morning. But this year I returned home before 2am every day except on Navami. On Sashthi, we were released before midnight! On other days, our duties ended some time between 1am and 2am. On Navami night and early Dashami morning, I had to oversee some immersion processions scheduled at the last minute.

Although I could return home early, I failed to catch up with friends because unlike other years, my neighbourhood pandal was deserted.

Masks

Despite all the awareness campaigns over the past seven months, some people were roaming around without masks. Many of the women who were without masks were reluctant to put on one when approached by women constables. One or two were prosecuted on the spot. Motorcyclists without helmets or masks or both were prosecuted without any exception. We had kept a stock of masks for those who could not afford one. We distributed over 1,000 masks to footpath dwellers from near three pandals — Santosh Mitra Square, College Square and Mohammad Ali Park — over the past five days.

What’s the point?

The Santosh Mitra Square puja committee (Lebutala Park), which had announced before the Puja that only residents of the neighbourhood would be allowed inside the pandal, had very few visitors. If one could not see the deity in the pandal, what’s the point of going to that puja?

The crowd was exceptionally thin at most big-ticket pujas, such as Mohammad Ali Park and College Square, possibly because of a high court order limiting the number of people who could enter a pandal.

However, there was a little rush outside pandals on Navami (Sunday).

Lebutala Park, where hundreds of people sit and chat, was closed. College Square was closed to visitors, too. We had practically no crowd to manage, except a few revellers who would try to enter a pandal claiming they were not aware of the restrictions. It did not feel like a stressful Puja duty at all.

Lonely supper

We usually take turns to have a quick meal on Puja days. We mostly eat from food packets supplied by organisers or the local police station. Sitting and eating is a luxury. But this year, we had ample time to have proper meals while on Puja duty. On Dashami night, when there was practically no one outside the Mohammad Ali Park pandal, I returned to my room at the police station and had my dinner cooked at the canteen. Though I could sit and eat a proper meal, I was missing my colleagues and the rush.

Bikes everywhere

There were more two-wheelers on the road than cars. Maybe because a two-wheeler allows a closer view of the pandal and a glimpse of the goddess inside. We did not have to do much to push them away as most of them did not stop or park.