Kolkata: Even as the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) deadline for removal of pandals from roads and parks expired on Thursday, several city parks as well as roads where pandals had been erected for Durga Puja remained out of bounds for citizens.The parks department had granted permission to some puja organisers across the city to hold pujas in the parks on condition that the parks should be restored immediately after Lakshmi Puja. The KMC brass had initially set Oct 27 as the deadline for removing the pandals and then extended it by 48 hours after most puja committees missed the deadline.However, even on Thursday, the encroachments remained. A visit to several parks by a TOI team on Tuesday revealed a picture of neglect and apathy. At Allen Park, where a Durga Puja was organised for the first time this year, the park is yet to be restored. According to a member of the organising committee, it would take another four-five days to make the park accessible.“We organised the puja for the first time. We lack expertise but are trying hard to restore the park by the next four-five days,” the member said. Asked about the KMC deadline, the member said they would seek some more time from the civic officials.Jagat Mukherjee Park in the Bagbazar neighbourhood has remained inaccessible for the citizens as the structure of the pandal is yet to be taken out of the small park. Sudip Saha, a senior citizen and a resident of the area, felt the KMC could have prodded the organisers to start dismantling the pandal structure in advance to make sure that the park was restored at the earliest. “This is the only place where I meet with my friends in the evening, every day. The park has remained out of bounds for us for almost a month,” he complained.At Kumartuli Park, the scene of clutter was no better. A visit to this park on Thursday afternoon revealed that though the organisers have started dismantling work, the entire park ground has been littered with bamboo and other decorating material. The puja organisers here held a fair during the four-day festival, and the stalls that were temporarily set up have added clutter to the park.At College Square, the scene is no different. Here, the mammoth pandal structure is still to be taken out. Locals expressed their dismay over the delay. “From our past experiences we have seen that deadlines are not kept at all, every year. So, it is better to issue a more practical deadline. At least we will not be hoping against hope to get back to the preferred zone in a short time,” said Ranita Sen, a Surja Sen Street resident.Not only the pandals that still exist in some parks and create hardship for the residents but also the makeshift bamboo structures for display of advertisements during Durga Pujas are to be seen in some neighbourhoods, conceded a KMC parks department official. Some such structures are to be seen in areas such as Ultadanga, Maniktala, Central Avenue, New Alipore, Diamond Harbour Road, Tollygunge, Bhowanipore, among other areas.
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