Around 50 Durga Puja committees in Malda have decided to CCTV cameras in and around their pandals to keep a close watch on visitors.

Officials of the district administration and police have appreciated the decision and said the CCTVs would supplement digital surveillance that would be carried out by the law enforcers during the festive days.

During the Puja days, thousands of people reach Malda town. They are from within Malda district, from the neighbouring districts and also from the states of Bihar and Jharkhand .

“We are engaging over 100 volunteers to manage the crowd from the entry point to the exit. Even then, it is not always possible to monitor the movement of the crowd at every moment. That is why we will install 12 CCTV cameras at all corners of our pandal. The comparatively lowly-lit areas around the pandal will also be under the scrutiny of these cameras,” said Subhamay Basu, the president of the United Youngs and a chairman-in-council member of Englishbazar municipality.

Lakshman Ghosh, the secretary of Shibaji Sangha, which is in the Buraburitala area of the town and draws thousands of pandal hoppers, said they too, had come up with a similar plan.

“We will put 40 CCTV cameras. It is better to be safe than be sorry. These will be night vision cameras and will help us in keeping surveillance on the crowd. We can control the entry and exit points in an appropriate manner and can prevent any untoward incident,” he said.

The Puja organisers, who are installing the CCTV cameras for the festive days, are also making arrangements for constant monitoring of these cameras.

Debabrata Saha, the secretary of Kalitala Club, said they had formed teams to keep a watch on the monitors in shifts.

“When we are spending adequately for the Puja, it is our responsibility to maintain the safety and security of the pandal-hoppers,” he said.

Police officers, while speaking on the issue, said they have advised even the smaller clubs to install such cameras.

“We have already installed around 500 CCTV cameras across the district for surveillance. These additional cameras will definitely intensify it,” said a police officer.