By Friday evening, over 2,500 Durga idols had been immersed in Calcutta, with around 2,200 going into the Hooghly and the remainder at ponds in Tollygunge, Jadavpur, and Behala.

Environment activists who visited several immersion ghats along the Hooghly praised the management of major ghats like Baje Kadamtala, Nimtala, and Gwalior but expressed concerns about smaller sites such as Sovabazar Ghat. Metro reporters also spotted floating idol frames at Kumartuli, Champatala, and Madanmohantala ghats, highlighting gaps in post-immersion cleanup.

At Baje Kadamtala — where the largest idols and those from prominent pujas are immersed — police restricted visitor entry. Only two to three organisers per puja were allowed inside the ghat with the idols, while others waited outside barricades to control crowds and ensure safety.

“The idols were removed quickly after immersion from ghats equipped with cranes, but manual removal at smaller ghats is slower and less efficient,” said environment activist Subhas Datta, who surveyed several ghats on Friday afternoon.

Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials said that four hydra cranes were stationed at Baje Kadamtala, one at Nimtala, and another kept on standby. These heavy-duty cranes lifted idols within minutes of immersion and loaded them onto KMC pick-up vans, which transported the debris to the Dhapa waste disposal ground.

Datta noted that such mechanised support was missing at smaller ghats. A KMC official explained that most ghats along the Hooghly lack the space needed for hydra crane operation, limiting their deployment.

Between Thursday noon and early Friday morning, about 2,200 idols were immersed in Calcutta, with over 1,800 in the Hooghly ghats alone. “Most idols immersed on Thursday belonged to household (barir puja) and small community celebrations,” said a KMC official.

“Gwalior Ghat, smaller than Baje Kadamtala, saw over 450 idols, Baje Kadamtala around 400, and Nimtala about 230,” the KMC official added.

Immersion started around noon on Thursday and continued until 4am on Friday. KMC officials explained that idols are rarely immersed during early mornings, with activities typically resuming in the afternoon.

To ease the burden on workers, Kolkata Police and the KMC introduced new arrangements. Trolleys were deployed at Baje Kadamtala to move idols from trucks to the river, while a ramp at Gwalior Ghat allowed idols to be slid into the water.

In New Town, about 350 idols were immersed at the township’s only immersion ghat near Tank No. 9. “Around 250 idols were immersed between Thursday and early Friday, with another 100 completed by Friday evening,” said an official from the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA). Pujas from New Town, Bidhannagar, Baguiati, and Kestopur used the Biswarjan Ghat for immersion.

In the Howrah municipal area, immersion took place at 50 ghats along the Hooghly, with key spots including Ramkrishnapur, Fultala, Bandha, Chattu Babur, and Chawal Patty ghats.