A good number of Durga Puja idols is likely to be immersed on Wednesday (Dashami), as many would prefer not to immerse them on a Thursday, police officers and officials of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation said.
Sixteen ghats along the Hooghly and several other smaller water bodies, especially in south and southeast Kolkata, have been prepared for the immersion.
Immersion of idols has to be completed by Saturday, which is when the Durga Puja immersion parade will be held on Red Road.
About 3,500 idols are immersed in the ghats along the Hooghly and a few hundred are immersed in water bodies across the Kolkata municipal area.
Almost all household pujas immerse the idols on the first day of immersion, sticking to tradition.
Most mid-sized and small-budget pujas also immerse the idols by the second day of immersion. The comparatively bigger pujas with bigger budgets and more personnel immerse the idols on the third day. The ones with a large budget, some of which are also among the most-visited pujas, stay for the immersion parade on the last day of immersion, said a police officer.
“Almost all private offices will open from Thursday. Those who have businesses will get back to work from Thursday or Friday. Most people prefer completing the immersion on the first or second day,” said the officer.
Another police officer said Beadon Street and Nimtala Ghat Street is an immersion corridor to reach Ahiritola Ghat, Nimtala Ghat, Sovabazar Ghat and PK Tagore Ghat. A large number of pujas from north and east Kolkata take this route to head towards the immersion ghats.
The maximum number of immersions take place at Baje Kadamtala Ghat, which falls on the road headed towards Hooghly from Eden Gardens. Another police officer said that for Durga Puja committees in south Kolkata, two of the immersion corridors are Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Road-Asutosh Mukherjee Road and Sarat Bose Road.
“On reaching AJC Bose Road, they can head towards Hastings to take Strand Road and reach the ghats along the Hooghly. They can also take Hospital Road, Red Road and Kings Way to reach the immersion ghats,” said a police officer.
Loud music and DJ will not be allowed in the procession. Beating of dhak is allowed.
“Most pujas complete the immersion within the first two days. But since the second day of immersion is Thursday, we are expecting a rush on Wednesday. Many people do not want to immerse idols on a Thursday,” said a senior official of the KMC.
No flower or decoration items will be allowed to be immersed or dipped in the Hooghly’s waters, something that has been restricted for the last few years, said an official of the KMC.
A separate enclosure where these items have to be thrown before only the clay idol is taken for immersion has been built at all the ghats.
“We have people deployed in the river waters. Cranes are also kept at the ghats. The idols are pulled towards the bank immediately after immersion. This is done to prevent pollution of the river,” said a KMC official.
