All Durga Puja pandals in West Bengal to be no-entry zones, orders Calcutta High Court

For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court said.

Representative image | An artist giving finishing touch on a clay idol of Goddess Durga at Kumartuli in Kolkata | Photo: ANI

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Monday ordered that all Durga Puja pandals across the state be declared no-entry zones to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Arijit Banerjee, hearing a public interest litigation, said that no visitors will be allowed to enter the marquees.

For small pandals, barricades will have to be put up five metres from the entrance, while for the bigger ones, the distance has to be 10 metres, the court ordered.

There should be no-entry boards on the barricades, it said.

The court also ordered that only 15 to 25 persons belonging to the organising committees will be allowed to enter the pandals.