Kolkata: If you are in Kolkata for Durga Puja and haven't yet gone to Deshapriya Park to see the tallest Durga idol in world yet, chances are that you will just have to make do with the pictures that are doing the rounds of social media.
The 88ft tall idol is made of fiber glass and cement and has been made by artist Mintu Pal along with 40 other artists who have been working on the idol and the pandal at Deshapriya Park for over two months.
But on Sunday evening owing to a huge turnout, five to six persons were injured and Kolkata police are fearing that more footfall in the coming days may lead to security hazards.
Eventually, the police have stopped entry of people inside Deshapriya Park to witness a idol for an "indefinite" period citing security and safety reasons.
Blaming that the Puja organisers have failed to put up a proper infrastructure to host an event, which attracted "peculiar media hype that created unwanted attention of the people," city Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purokayasta told PTI that the step was taken after a massive crowd choked the Park and its surrounding roads.
© Provided by IBNLive td1This picture was shared by Amitabh Bachchan on Facebook.
"There was a massive crowd at Deshapriya Park that put up a question mark on the safety and security of the people coming to see the idol," Purokayasta said on Sunday.
"The organisers have failed to put up a proper infrastructure there. They have not planned it properly and because of the hype created with the height of the idol, huge number of visitors are coming to the venue resulting to a strange situation," he said.
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"Our primary concern is to ensure that people out to witness Durga Puja, are safe. So we have decided to stop entry of people there," he said.
The Kolkata Police would conduct a review of the venue on Monday morning after which "we will take a call," the CP said.
The top cop along with other senior officers of the Kolkata Police visited the venue this evening after complaints of huge rush to Deshapriya Park led to massive traffic snarls
in the area.
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Purokayasta took a look in and around the Park before leaving at around 8.10 PM.
According to Kolkata Police officers, around five to six persons were injured in a rush at Deshapriya Park earlier on Sunday afternoon.
"At one point of time it seemed like the situation was heading towards a stampede. Then only we decided to review the situation," an officer said.
The idol, which has been a major draw this Durga Puja, is equal to an eight-storey building, according to the puja committee organisers. Star Cement and the Deshapriya Park Puja Committee are the joint organisers of this event.
Incidentally, while the norm is bid farewell to the Goddess by immersing her in river, this idol, owing to its size and height will be broken down post Puja and not immersed.
