Organizers plant saplings, fill up holes to restore roads after puja

Kolkata: Several puja organizers have taken the initiative to fill up holes that were dug for bamboo poles to erect pandals. Members of several clubs have started work to restore damages to roads and pavements on Sunday, a day before offices and educational institutes reopen.Hazra Park Sarbojanin has filled up holes with loose soil and planted saplings on the ground where the puja was held. Dengue season is not over, so keeping that in mind several organizers have started covering open holes on an emergency basis. Many had to wait till Saturday due to Lakshmi Puja which prevented the dismantling of pandals. Kumartuli Sarbojanin Durgotsav used small pieces of bricks to fill the holes. Organizers, along with labourers, filled every hole that was dug for planting bamboo sticks. General secretary Debasish Bhattacharya said, “This year we were getting late as PWD took time to remove the barricades. Otherwise, we would have filled these holes after Dashami. We are aware of our responsibility to restore the roads and pavements.”Hazra Park Durgotsav had to dig holes on the ground which they filled up after puja. Organizers decided to plant at least 10 saplings on the ground. General secretary Sayandev Chottopadhyay said, “We, the club organizers, along with workers, filled each hole with soil and restored the old structure of the park. We will conduct a plantation on the ground soon.” While puja organizers sought permission from KMC to make some changes in park fences to make pandal construction related to their themes, KMC took an oath letter from the organizers for restoring the old look immediately after puja. Kashi Bose Lane Puja organizers temporarily removed fences of Sudhir Mukherjee Udyan to set up their own to go with their theme of child trafficking. General secretary Somen Datta said, “The portion of the park which was temporarily removed with the permission of KMC has been restored and very little work is pending which is expected to be completed soon. On the street, we had to dig small holes for planting bamboo poles which have already been filled with brick pieces and the patchwork will be done by the KMC soon.”The Santoshpur Trikon Park Puja pandal is being dismantled and organizers have started filling holes that were dug for making the pandal. An organizer said, “This is a busy connector from Jadavpur to Bypass, so we started filling up holes on an emergency basis. Sunday was an added advantage for us as most of the members were present.”
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