The restrictions imposed by Calcutta High Court on visits to Durga Puja pandals may be seen as a political relief to the Mamata Banerjee government, which has been apprehensive of the festival turning the Covid-19 pandemic into a full-fledged public health emergency in Bengal.

At the same time, a section of senior officials said Nabanna feels the judgment was delivered too late and was too sweeping in nature for it to be implemented smoothly.

Several seniors in the ruling party and the government said the high court had possibly helped avert a much larger crisis.

“Having gone out of her way to enable the festival even during Covid-19, the restrictions have now come from the court. So, it is not something that can be held against the chief minister,” said a minister.

“Had she imposed any restriction on the festival, the saffron camp would have accused her of being anti-Hindu. Because she allowed everything, they were gearing up to seize on the political opportunity from a major spike in Covid-19 cases after Puja,” he added.

The minister said Trinamul was also pleased with several key observations of the court, which went in favour of the government, such as the stress on the administration’s right intentions which were evident from Puja guidelines.

“The court also saved us any possible damage from malicious propaganda by the Hindutva brigade by ordering repeated announcements from all pandals what the restrictions are,” he said.

Some in the top brass at Nabanna said the order would help them handle crowds in a far more efficient way and make them adhere better to the Covid-19 protocols.

A source said the foremost priority of the state government would now be to duly barricade and cordon off the pandals in compliance with the order.

“The state government has to ensure that physical distancing is maintained and devotees wear masks outside the barricades. This is a much easier job, especially with the smaller turnouts we now estimate,” said an official.

“Considering the way people have been rushing to pandals from last week itself, it would have been very tough for us to manage crowds had the order not been issued,” he added.

Senior government officials led by chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay had held a videoconference with district magistrates and the commissioner of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, besides the city police commissioner, to finalise a plan of action to deal with the rush.

“The surge in Covid-19 cases through October was enough of an indication. The chief minister herself had been warning against the revelry worsening the outbreak and asserting that community transmission had begun,” said a government official.

Although Mamata herself has been out inaugurating several important pujas of the city, besides fulfilling some social commitments of the festival, she has been advocating strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocols.

However, administrative sources in the state government said Nabanna was now worried how the judgment could be implemented.

“It is already the second half of Tritiya. It is extremely difficult now to enforce such an order across tens of thousands of puja pandals in every nook and cranny of the state,” said a senior official.

Puja is Bengal’s biggest festival and is a major emotive issue for the state and its residents, and rendering all pandals no-entry zones overnight is easier said than done, he added.

Another senior state official said thousands of medium to small pandals in and around the city and elsewhere in the state didn’t have the means or the ability to comply with the order, having already completed the entire process of organising the festival.

“The state government and a few agencies are not the sole stakeholders in this. There exist, among others, tens of thousands of organisers with so much at stake. In passing the order, one might argue, not everyone was adequately heard,” he said.

“While the state government is unlikely to challenge the order and seek a review, there is every possibility that organisers, or some other stakeholders, might,” he added.

The official also pointed out that the court had earlier ordered in a separate case that the Rs 50,000 grant to puja organisers from the state government was to be used on masks, sanitisers and Covid-19 management in and around the pandals.

“Now, there is no clarity on what happens with that fund. Given the pandals being turned into no-entry zones, there cannot possibly be expenditure of Rs 50,000 under such heads,” said an official.

The on-record statements issued by several senior Trinamul leaders, all associated with big-ticket pujas, were unenthusiastic. Most, such as urban development minister and the immediate past city mayor Firhad Hakim — principal patron of the Chetla Agrani Sangha puja — said they would like to go through the order fully before responding.

Fire and emergency services minister Sujit Bose, principal organiser of the Sreebhumi Sporting Club puja, alleged “step-motherly treatment” towards Bengal’s biggest festival.

The most balanced response from the ruling camp came from Calcutta’s immediate past deputy mayor — currently the member in charge of health at the board of administrators to run the civic body — Atin Ghosh.

“As the principal organiser of 17 north Calcutta pujas, I have to say I am disheartened and in a state of utter confusion over what we can do to save those pujas,” said Ghosh, a foremost leader of the ruling party in north Calcutta.

“But, as the person in charge of the city’s public health, I have to say some restrictions were necessary and the high court’s decision is welcome,” he added.