Six clubs in and around Rabindra Sarobar will remain shut from 9pm on Wednesday to noon on Friday to ensure no one enters south Calcutta’s largest park with a water body and performs Chhath rituals.
This year, the Chhath rituals will be performed on November 7 evening and the next morning.
Senior officials of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) said emails have been sent to the six clubs with a direction to keep them shut to prevent a rerun of 2018.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has prohibited Chhath rituals at Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar, off Beleghata in the city’s northeast.
In 2018, thousands of worshippers performed the Chhath rituals in the Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar premises violating prohibitory orders.
“As many as eight gates of Rabindra Sarobar will be secured with temporary bamboo structures and the work will begin from Wednesday night. Each bamboo barricade will be around 25ft-long covering the entire gate. The gates will be locked with iron chains and banners will be put up saying performing Chhath rituals inside is banned,” said a senior official of the KMDA.
Visitors to Rabindra Sarobar on Monday evening.
The KMDA, under the urban development department, maintains the water bodies at Rabindra Saroboar and Subhas Sarobar.
The six clubs include Lake Friends Swimming Club, The Calcutta Swimming Club, Indian Life Saving Society, Bengal Rowing Club, Lake Club and Calcutta Rowing Club.
“We have informed our members about the KMDA directive and the timings when the club will be out of bounds for the members for Chhath Puja,” a senior Lake Club official said.
Beginning Wednesday night, separate police teams will be deployed outside Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar and the entry of visitors will be restricted barring those on official duty.
“These teams will be on surveillance along Southern Avenue and EM Bypass and scan visitors entering the two water bodies. The local police stations have been briefed about the measures to be put in place to ensure no violation of the NGT order prohibition Chhath rituals at these two places,” a senior police officer at Lalbazar said.
“Rounds of coordination meetings have been held with KMDA officials and others to ensure this.”
In 2018, thousands of worshippers performed Chhath Puja rituals on the Rabindra Sarobar and Subhas Sarobar premises after some of them broke open the locks on the gates. The administration did not make any effort to stop them.
This year, the police and KMDA officials said separate banners will be displayed at both places mentioning the ghats where Chhath rituals could be performed.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has made arrangements at more than 150 ghats, including 27 along the Hooghly, where Chhath rituals can be performed.
The KMDA, too, has identified close to 40 ghats across Mukundapur, Anandapur, East Kolkata Township in Kasba and at Lake Gardens where the rituals can be performed.
Like last year, only green firecrackers are allowed on Chhath and the crackers can only be burst between 6am and 8am, said an official of the state pollution control board. “DJ music” — the use of multiple loudspeakers to amplify noise — is banned. Devotees have been advised not to pour oil and ghee into the water.