Upasana immersion ghat in New Town was a busy zone on Friday as Durga Puja organisers headed there in significant numbers than usual in an attempt to bypass the ghats on the Hooghly fearing long queues.
Till 6pm on Friday, around 400 idols had been immersed at the ghat, said a senior official of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA).
The number, according to figures released by the NKDA, is significantly greater than the past two years.
The immersion ghat is built around a natural canal. The NKDA has placed separate colour-coded bins for bio-degradable and non-biodegradable wastes at the ghat.
The ghat this year turned out to be a bigger draw for several Durga Puja organisers outside New Town as it is so much closer to places like Salt Lake, Bangur, Lake Town and Dum Dum than the Hooghly.
Moreover, several puja organisers who headed for immersion here told The Telegraph on Friday that they did not have to pay anything for the entire immersion process.
Tapas Sengupta, the secretary of the AE Block Samaj Kalyan Sangha (AE part II) Durgotsav Committee, said, unlike the ghats along the Hooghly where they had to haggle with labourers to unload the idols from the truck and carry them to the ghat for immersion, in New Town they had to do nothing of that sort.
“All the arrangements were already in place. The moment our truck arrived, we were directed to a counter where our details were recorded and we were asked to wait our turn. As soon as our trucks neared the ghat a team of labourers unloaded the idols and took them to the ramp from where the immersions were taking place. It was a very smooth and hassle-free experience for us,” said Sengupta.
The police and the NKDA officials had made provisions for four different lanes for immersions to take place simultaneously. Lifeboats with divers were at the ready and frequent announcements were being made to ensure safety. The arrangements made the immersion process fast and smooth.