Kolkata ready for maiden Durga Puja immersion carnival

Amid tight security arrangements, this eastern metropolis on Friday geared up for the maiden carnival parade of as many as 39 award-winning community Durga Puja idols, to showcase the variety of artistic creations, before immersion in the Hooghly river.

The 39 pujas are winners of West Bengal's 'Biswa Bangla Sharad Samman' award.

The road show called 'Pujor pore thakur dekha' (viewing idols after the Puja) would start off at the Red Road here, the venue for the Republic Day Parade as well.

The event, presided over by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, will provide a window of two to three minutes each to every Puja committee to showcase their endeavours in a tableau-like formation.

Around 10,000 visitors and 2,000 VIPs are expected to watch the floats from barricaded seating areas set up on either side of the road, the city police said.

Smaller puja committees are allowed to display a maximum of three tableaux while bigger ones can highlight as many as five floats.

Several arterial roads, including Mayo Road, have been closed to traffic for the three-hour event.

"Spectators coming by trams or buses will have to alight at Esplanade or Park Street and walk it down to the venue," the police said.

For ease of viewing, four giant screens have been placed at vantage points along the stretch.

--IANS

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