Kolkata: Taking lessons from the Chorbagan experience where 19 people lost their lives on Oct 18, Kolkata Police has passed multiple instructions to organisers. The organisers have been instructed to restrict entry of pandal-hoppers if it rains. If required, entry has to be entirely stopped till the rain gets over. Additionally, at least one cop will be posted at the announcement kiosk to pre-empt any stampede-like situation and pass necessary instructions to pandal-hoppers.These instructions were passed on to Kali puja organisers during the coordination meeting on Monday.Among the other instructions, the police have asked organisers to restrict playing of sound boxes between 7 am and 11 am in the morning and again from 6 pm to 10 pm in the evening. They will also ensure that they raise awareness in the neighbourhood that only green crackers are burst in the 8 pm to 10 pm period.According to the SOP, separate entry and exit gates must be designated and clearly marked so that visitors can spot them easily. Depending on the crowd size, visitors should be allowed into and out of the pandal in a gradual and orderly manner. Keeping potential emergencies in mind, every puja committee has been instructed to prepare an emergency evacuation strategy.Meanwhile,cops have woken up to banned crackers’ sound, registering multiple cases across the city under Explosives Act after recovering illegal crackers, setting up 15 checkpoints at the city entry points (borders and railway stations) and another 28 at important intersections within the city to stop the entry of illegal firecrackers into the city.The border police stations under Kolkata Police have been asked to set up special teams and provide them with bikes for patrolling those bylanes through which illegal firecrackers can enter the city. The OCs of these police stations have also been instructed to work in coordination with Bengal Police to stop the entry of illegal fireworks.The police have identified some locations, including Phoolbagan, Behala, Sarsuna, Thakurpukur, Tollygunge, Ballygunge, Lake Gardens, Patuli, Jadavpur, Entally and Cossipore, that will have special teams monitoring them. They will develop strategies after mapping the spots that have a history of maximum air and sound pollution on Diwali in the past five years. “A few apartments and slums will see extra cop deployment,” said another officer.The stress will be on checking vehicles at odd hours – and not just limiting this to the night restriction period. Cops say this will include special night checks and mandatory searches, especially on roads linking the city with the firecracker hubs of South 24 Parganas. In addition, two special teams — along with an official of the Pollution Control Board and comprising 11 personnel — have been prepared to carry out raids at major godowns in the city in two shifts each day.Multiple teams, composed of six local officers each, will monitor markets. In addition, 18 teams of Kolkata Police will carry out abrupt checks across the city in each of the nine divisions in order to seize firecrackers anywhere they feel it’s necessary. Reserved Force personnel will be accompanying these teams wherever necessary.
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