The Mohammad Ali Park Durga puja has shifted to the fire station next to it this year and police are worried of long queues as the place is far smaller than the park.

The shift to the Central Avenue fire station became necessary after a team of engineers detected cracks on a 3-million gallon water reservoir under the park. Civic engineers had said that the combined weight of the pandal and visitors could lead to the reservoir that is in a dilapidated state collapsing.

Of the four bays in the front of the fire station, two are being used as entry points, a traffic police officer said. “There were four functional fire engines in the station, of which two have been parked in the bays. The other two have been parked in the adjacent Nil Madhab Lane.”

The station cannot accommodate a large crowd; so, there could be longer queues. “If the turnout remains same like earlier years, there could be very long queues,” the officer said.

As Mohammad Ali Park and College Square are close, most people visit both pujas in one go — another reason why the police are worried.

“We have not changed the pedestrian route in the area so that people who visit Mohammad Ali Park every year don’t get confused,” the traffic police officer said.

The puja organisers have planned to put up boards alerting people about the puja being held at the fire station, Goutam Sarkar, one of the organisers, said.