WB: State may give 'special permission' to 20-wheeler vehicles to travel along Kolkata bridges after Durga Puja

The collapse of Majerhat bridge and the subsequent order by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee prohibiting 20-wheeler trailers within city limits have put puja committees in a fix because during the post-puja carnival idols are taken on these trailers on Red Road during the event.

Organisers said that it would not be possible to carry those idols without those heavy vehicles. "We have no idea how we will carry those huge structures without the trailers. Either we will have to break rules or we won't partake at all because there is no in-between solution," said a senior member of one of the leading Puja organisers in south Kolkata.

A senior official of Kolkata Municipal Corporation said that a solution would be worked out. "A special permission will be procured for the carnival day to facilitate the carnival. It would be for only one day so trailers plying on Red Road for one day will not do too much damage," said a member, mayor-in-council (MMiC). He said that the matter was raised during a high-level meeting ahead of the pujas and the problem, when placed before senior administrative officials, said permission for a day could be given. Senior officials of Kolkata Police were also present at the meeting.

Time allotted for every puja committee for the Durga carnival has been brought down. Earlier each committee got around three minutes to pass the Red Road stretch but this time each of them will get about one and a half minutes. Officials said that the decision had been taken looking at the increasing number of participants. Last year 56 puja committees partook in the carnival whereas this year the number is 75.

Puja organisers take these idols for immersion through Red Road in an event where Mamata is also present. The tableau had been a major attraction since the tradition began, during the reign of Mamata. This year, the carnival will take place on October 23. Every committee will have one or two trailers for the idols and a smaller vehicle for the generator. Each tableau will be between 80 and 100 metre in length. Carnival organisers are, however, worried about how a tableau of that length would be able to pass in the allotted time of one and a half minutes.