Nepal King to visit Kalighat today

KOLKATA: Kalighat temple will be off limits for devotees till 9.30 am on Friday for King Gyanendra’s visit. The Nepalese king is expected to arrive at the temple at around 8 a.m.
According to temple committee secretary Arun Mukherjee, no devotee will be allowed to go anywhere near the temple till the Nepalese king leaves. Between 300 to 400 people visit the temple every morning.
Shops lining the stretch leading to the temple will also remain closed.
Senior intelligence officials from Delhi are checking security arrangements around the temple.
A red carpet has been laid from the main door to the staircase leading to the main temple. Nearly 30 velvet covered chairs have been arranged for the king and his entourage to make use of while opening their shoes.
“We have not been informed about any animal sacrifice on behalf of the king,� Mukherjee said. No special bhog has been arranged either.
Meanwhile, the unprecedented security measures adopted by the Kolkata Police on Wednesday evening when the king arrived, saw an ambulance stopped near Teghoria for 25 minutes.
Overzealous policemen also prevented a hospital goer from crossing the road along with other pedestrians. And, a minor boy was detained at Baguiati whimsically by a traffic inspector simply because he looked Nepalese.
A posse of unarmed policemen stood along the VIP Road and stopped the free movement of people across the link roads, much before the king was scheduled to pass. Pedestrians protested in vain as policemen threw cordons with ropes.