Kolkata: Bengal govt has told Calcutta High Court that this would be the last time Chhath puja is organised at Bally’s Rashbari ghat, bringing an end to a 30-year-old tradition of locals offering prayers to the setting and rising sun.While the division bench of Chief Justice Ravindra Vithalao Ghuge and Justice Om Narayan Rai allowed puja on the ghat this year after the owner agreed to Additional Advocate General (AAG) Billwadal Bhattacharya’s appeal, the court capped the number of devotees at 3,500 and listed volunteers’ names and phone numbers.The bench directed that cops would manage the crowd and that CCTV and metal detectors will be set up. “If any untoward incident occurs or if there is a crowd beyond 3,500, cops would be empowered to stop people from entering the premises. The above-mentioned volunteers/Chhath Puja committee members would be personally responsible and liable for any untoward incident which leads to loss of property or injuries to any member of the crowd or death, while making a forceful attempt to enter the premises beyond the count of 3,500,” the HC directed.Cops were directed to put up loudspeakers to pass instructions and no pandals except changing rooms set up for women devotees were allowed. The HC also banned the playing of DJ or loud music within the private property premises.Local women filed a PIL demanding access to the private ghat where they have been performing Chhath rituals for years.
