Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) is considering installing conveyor belts, similar to the ones used in airports, at immersion ghats as an alternative to using cranes during Durga Puja immersion.Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has said that the new govt will stop the use of cranes in puja immersion.Sources said the conveyor belts will carry the idols to the waters and bring them back to the bank, without requiring cranes to lift them from the waters.“The idol will be placed on the conveyor belt. It will go down into the river. Since a conveyor is a continuously rotating belt, the idol will automatically come back to the riverbank,” said a state govt official.The immersion procedure that has been followed for years involves the use of cranes. The idol was pushed into the river, where it stayed for a few minutes before cranes were used to lift the idols. Sources said the use of a trolley is also being considered.On Sept 7, the chief minister had said the govt “will depart from the way idols were immersed by using cranes”. “We will uphold the sacredness of Maa Durga’s idol,” he said at the meeting with Durga Puja organisers at Milan Mela ground.“We have been discussing the options for a few days. We have also installed a trolley at Baja Kadamtala Ghat to see whether it can work in the ghat,” said an official.The urban development department secretary has written to the KMC commissioner, heads of all other municipal bodies and all district magistrates, asking them to use conveyor belts. “A policy of immersion of idols with due respect, by using conveyor belts will be taken up for the entire state,” the letter mentions.Tourists who have witnessed immersion of Durga idols in Taki said trolleys are used for immersion in Ichhamati river. “The idols are placed on the trolley that is mechanically operated. The idols slowly roll down into the river and are then lifted upwards mechanically,” said a Kolkatan who has witnessed the immersion.There are over 15 ghats along Hooghly in Kolkata where Durga Puja immersion takes place, but not all of them are wide enough to have a conveyor belt or a trolley installed. “Baja Kadamtala Ghat and Nimatala Ghat are the bigger ghats where large idols are immersed. Conveyor belts or trolleys can be installed in these ghats. But there are many small ghats and waterbodies where immersions are allowed. It is still unclear whether it will be possible to install conveyor belts or trolleys in such immersion ghats,” said an official.
