The Mamata Banerjee government on Wednesday asked people to celebrate New Year’s Eve with caution and use discretion amid concerns that unmasked gatherings could lead to a fresh spike in Covid cases.

The government, however, made it clear that no extreme restrictions like night curfew would be in place in the state.

“We are urging people to celebrate New Year’s Eve in a quiet, restricted and cautious manner. No one should go out without masks. The authorities have initiated several measures in places where people gather to celebrate New Year,” state chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay said.

A Calcutta High Court division bench of Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya and Justice Kausik Chanda had on Tuesday passed an order instructing the state chief secretary and the home secretary to prevent congestion in public places, particularly in the popular spots of the city, during the year-end celebrations.

Like during Durga Puja and other festivals, when a similar order of the high court was in force to prevent a spike in the number of Covid cases, the onus of implementing the order would be on the police.

On Wednesday, Bandyopadhyay met several senior officers from the home department and the police to discuss ways to execute the high court directive.

“There are only a few places in the state — Park Street, Eco Park and Victoria Memorial among them — where people gather to celebrate. The police would convert traffic posts in these areas into assistance booths where a limited number of masks would be kept to distribute to those who come out without masks. Police would also keep a watch on the gathering (to ensure that protocols are followed),” the chief secretary said.

Senior officers in Lalbazar said around 10 police checkpoints would be set up along the entire stretch of Park Street from its junction with JL Nehru Road right upto Mullickbazar. Each of these checkpoints would have police armed with sanitisers and masks. Those found to be without masks on New Year’s Eve would immediately be directed to the nearest checkpoint and a mask would be handed over to him/her. Officers in charge of Park Street and Shakespeare Sarani police stations have been asked to draw up a roster for deployment at these checkpoints from early Thursday.

“There will be a continuous campaign from loud hailers requesting visitors to maintain social distance in keeping with the high court directive. Additional forces would be deployed around Victoria Memorial, the Maidan and St Paul’s Cathedral,” said a senior police officer.

On Wednesday afternoon, police officers met representatives of pubs and restaurants and instructed them to deploy additional manpower to ensure social distancing among the crowd waiting to enter and to strictly follow the timeline for closure by the excise department.

The police have decided that there will be no restriction on traffic movement on Park Street but if the footfall becomes high and unmanageable then senior officers at the spot will take a decision.

Park Street, between Chowringhee Road and the Wood Street intersection, will be divided into multiple zones and each will be under the supervision of an officer of the rank of deputy commissioner on 31st night.

The chief secretary made it clear that the situation in the state did not warrant a night curfew. “The Centre has issued guidelines and those are for all states. Where such restrictions are required, states concerned would follow the advisories. But in Bengal, the (Covid) situation does not warrant such extreme actions. At the same time, people should not celebrate in an extreme manner,” he said.

On Tuesday, the number of daily Covid positive cases in the state came down to 1,244. This number had crossed 4,000 in end October.

Chill alert

The new year is set to arrive with biting cold, the Met office said. Fresh northwesterly winds from the upper reaches of the country are headed to the city. “The winds will be stronger than those blowing now. The effect should be felt from Thursday evening. The minimum temperature is expected to slide significantly from Friday,” said a Met official.