Kolkata, Oct 9 Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim has directed Durga Puja organisers and entrepreneurs to immediately remove all advertisement banners, hoardings and bamboo structures, which were put up on the occasion of Durga puja, in Kolkata.
The direction from the Mayor came after it was learnt that several puja organisers have not removed such advertisements and banners and did not open up the space taken up by the pandals for the public even after the conclusion of Lakshmi Puja.
A senior official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) said on Thursday that action will be taken against Puja committees which will fail to open their premises for the public or remove bamboo structures from the pavements which were erected to manage the crowd or mandap visitors.
The senior official said, "Last night, the Mayor told the municipality that pedestrians and vehicles are facing problems as bamboo structures are lying around outside puja mandaps. Banners, hoardings and bamboo structures have not been removed from sidewalks in several places. Angered by this, the Mayor has directed that such structures be removed immediately and bring Kolkata to its previous state."
Even though idols were immersed in almost all areas from the north to the south of the city, in some places the mandapams are half-open or have been opened, but the dais is still there. In some places bamboo has been left lying around and large advertising structures, banners and hoardings are also still in place.
It may be noted that the KMC had issued a 14-day deadline to Durga Puja committees to open up parks for the public which were used for puja pandals within 14 days after idol immersion.
The decision to give a timeline to open such parks for the public was taken after observing that many parks remain closed for a long time after Durga Puja as committees delay removing mandap structures and this inconveniences the public.
However, this time, the KMC wants such puja organisers to remove structures immediately and before Kali puja later this month.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor