Kolkata’s civic authorities completed the city’s Durga idol immersion operations after more than 4,000 idols were sent off at Hooghly river ghats and neighbourhood ponds, with cranes, earthmovers, ramps and conveyor systems deployed to clear bamboo frames and other structures.
Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) workers continued clearing the major immersion points on Saturday after a nightlong operation that followed the main round of visarjan from Friday evening. A KMC official said the major ghats recorded around 800 immersions from Friday evening, while approximately 700 idols were immersed in ponds across the city.
Bajekadamtolla, also known as Babughat, recorded 212 immersions during the final round. Nimtala, Judges Ghat and Doighat in Kidderpore also saw a surge in activity as puja organisers completed the immersion process. KMC officials said almost 100% of the city’s idols had been immersed by Saturday.
The operation was complicated by bamboo frames and other structures left along the banks after the idols were sent into the river. Heaps accumulated at Bajekadamtolla, Nimtala and Doighat, requiring the civic immersion coordination team and police personnel to manage both the movement of organisers and the clearance of debris.
KMC requisitioned additional cranes, earthmovers and trucks at Bajekadamtolla to accelerate the removal of the structures. Special mechanical ramps, slides and rail-mounted trolley or conveyor systems were used at the major ghats, including Bajekadamtolla, Nimtala, Gwalior, Judges and Doi ghats.
The river’s tidal conditions affected the ease of the operation. A high tide in the Hooghly on Friday afternoon helped hundreds of idols move through the immersion process, while a low tide on Thursday had made it harder to remove idols and their frames. The tidal variation added another operational constraint to an exercise already dependent on coordinated deployment of civic equipment and personnel.
KMC headquarters officials had earlier said that around 2,800 idols were immersed in the Hooghly and city ponds on Dashami, which fell on Wednesday. Doighat recorded approximately 700 immersions that day, while Bajekadamtolla recorded 560. Only a limited number of organisers completed immersion on Thursday.
The civic operation also extended beyond the major riverfront locations. Teams from KMC’s parks and squares department and solid waste management department were deployed at neighbourhood ponds used for local and household pujas. Officials said teams were active in Behala, Jadavpur-Tollygunge and areas near the EM Bypass to support the local immersion process.
With the immersion process substantially complete, KMC’s immediate task was to finish clearing bamboo frames and other residual structures from the major ghats and ensure that the neighbourhood ponds and riverfront sites were restored after the festival operations.
