Durga Puja: No pandals this year at CR Park, other areas in south Delhi

To ensure citizens do not crowd outside the temple, police will also place barricades

Chittaranjan Park and its adjoining areas in South Delhi, which host around 50 Durga Puja pandals every year, will not do so this year due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, area MLA and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said Monday.

A pandal in Chittaranjan Park, New Delhi, during Durga Puja in 2018. The AAP MLA said that most of the population of CR Park and members of puja committees are senior citizens and it is important that they remain indoors and avoid contact with unknown people in pandals. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Archive)

The decision was taken in a meeting held Monday morning at CR Park’s Kali Mandir with various puja committees, the area’s sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), police personnel and representatives of the south Delhi municipal corporation (SDMC).

To ensure citizens do not crowd outside the temple, police will also place barricades.

“I convened a meeting today [Monday], which was attended by representatives of around 12 Durga Puja committees from Chittaranjan Park, GK2, GK1, Alaknanda and Kalkaji, apart from officers from various enforcement agencies. It has been unanimously decided that Durga Puja celebrations will be suspended this year due to the pandemic,” Bhardwaj said.

The AAP MLA said that most of the population of CR Park and members of puja committees are senior citizens and it is important that they remain indoors and avoid contact with unknown people in pandals.

“Only for religious reasons, a small Kalash Puja/ Ghat Puja will be attended by 10-15 Committee members. This will ensure the continuity of puja by these samitis. I have also requested the district administration and local police to help the puja committees in stopping any outsiders entering these areas,” he said.

The police will barricade the areas so that the public does not attend these pujas.