Doctors from the Protect the Warriors (PTW) visited 88 puja pandals to check the status of Covid safety compliance. While they were impressed with some, they appealed to others with suggestions on improving the protocols.
“We found that some committees were very proactive in their attempt to minimize crowd gathering,” said ENT consultant Abhik Ghosh, secretary PTW, who led the team to some pandals in the northern part of the city
The team said crowd puller pandals like Bharat Chakra and Tarun Sangha in Dum Dum Park, Adhibasi Brinda in Lake Town and most of the pandals in Salt Lake were found following Covid prevention protocols. Some had even put up no-entry zone boards a day after the Calcutta High Court order.
“We came across committees like Ballygunge Cultural announcing from now that no visitor would be allowed on days like Ashthami for specific duration. And pujas like Santohspur Tridhara have kept their pandal completely open so that people can see it from the road,” said public health expert Anirban Dalui, treasurer of PTW.
The doctors had divided themselves into five teams on Tuesday. The other three teams were led by doctors Swarnapali Maity, Soumik Goswami and Somnath Bhar. “One positive thing we noticed is presence of less number of people in pandals. We hope this trend continues,” added Dalui.
The doctors, though, said while many pujas were trying to restrict crowd, steps at some pujas were not impressive. “All we can do is appeal in larger interest. Healthcare system is under stress. We hope the people understand why there is the need for restricted festival,” said Ghosh.
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