Kolkata’s proposal to replace cranes with conveyor belts or mechanically operated trolleys for Durga Puja idol immersion is more than a change in ritual equipment. It is a test of whether a city-wide civic operation can be redesigned around the physical differences between its ghats, the scale of idols and the municipal systems needed to manage them.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is considering airport-style conveyor belts at immersion ghats after the state government indicated that cranes would no longer be used for puja immersion. The proposed system would carry an idol down towards the river and return it to the bank through a continuously rotating belt. A trolley, which would move mechanically along a similar route, is also being considered.
The proposal has emerged from a decision announced by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari at a meeting with Durga Puja organisers at Milan Mela ground on September 7. The chief minister said the government would “depart from the way idols were immersed by using cranes” and would uphold the sacredness of the idol. The urban development department secretary subsequently wrote to the KMC commissioner, the heads of other municipal bodies and district magistrates, asking them to use conveyor belts. The letter said that a policy for immersing idols with due respect through conveyor belts would be taken up across the state.
That state-wide direction creates an infrastructure question that cannot be resolved by selecting a machine alone. Kolkata has more than 15 immersion ghats along the Hooghly, according to the report, but they do not have identical physical conditions. Some are large enough to accommodate new equipment, while others may not have the width or approach needed for a fixed conveyor or trolley.
Baja Kadamtala Ghat and Nimtala Ghat have been identified by an official as larger ghats where large idols are immersed and where conveyor belts or trolleys could be installed. At the same time, the official said it remained unclear whether the systems could be installed at the many smaller ghats and waterbodies where immersions are permitted. That distinction is central to the proposal. A solution that works at two major sites may not automatically become a city-wide system.
The existing process relies on a combination of human handling, river access and cranes. Under the procedure described in the report, an idol is pushed into the river and remains there for a few minutes before a crane lifts it out. The crane therefore performs the critical removal function after immersion. Replacing it with a belt or trolley would shift the operation from lifting equipment positioned at the water’s edge to a guided mechanical route connecting the bank with the water.
That change could alter how each ghat has to be designed and operated. A conveyor would need a stable path, sufficient clearance for the idol and a mechanism capable of moving the structure down and back without damaging it. A trolley would require a controlled track or ramp and enough space for mechanical movement. The report does not provide technical specifications, load capacities, installation costs or operating timelines, so the final design and procurement model remain unknown.
The administration has already begun a limited practical test. An official said a trolley had been installed at Baja Kadamtala Ghat to assess whether it could work there. This is significant because the choice between a conveyor belt and a trolley is not only a question of equipment preference. It is also a question of how the system fits into the geometry of a working ghat, how large idols are positioned and how the process can be managed during periods of concentrated activity.
The example of Taki, where trolleys are reportedly used for immersion in the Ichhamati river, provides a reference point within the region. A Kolkatan who had witnessed the process there said idols were placed on a mechanically operated trolley, slowly rolled into the river and then lifted upwards mechanically. But a system used at one river location cannot be treated as a universal template without assessing the different conditions of Kolkata’s Hooghly-side ghats and other permitted waterbodies.
The operational challenge is also linked to the distribution of immersion activity. The largest ghats may receive large idols and higher volumes, making them logical locations for investment in permanent machinery. Smaller ghats may serve local puja organisers and may have limited space for a fixed installation. If the state policy is applied uniformly, municipal authorities will have to determine whether smaller sites receive the same equipment, a modified version or a different operating arrangement.
This is where the proposal moves from a ceremonial decision to a governance exercise. The urban development department has issued the direction, but implementation will involve the KMC, other municipal bodies and district administrations. These agencies will need to translate a broad policy into site-level plans. The report does not establish whether a common technical standard, funding arrangement, maintenance responsibility or safety protocol has been finalised.
The division of responsibility matters because immersion infrastructure is used intensively during a limited period but must be maintained outside the festival window. A conveyor or trolley is not simply a temporary object placed beside the river. It would become part of the access, handling and safety system at a ghat. Municipal authorities would need to account for installation, inspection, operation and repair, although the supplied material does not specify how these tasks will be assigned.
The proposed redesign also raises a question about how public infrastructure accommodates religious and civic activity. Immersion ghats are not interchangeable industrial sites. They are locations where ritual requirements, river-edge conditions, crowds and municipal operations meet. The state government’s stated objective is to change the mechanism while preserving what it describes as the sacredness of the idol. The infrastructure must therefore satisfy both a functional requirement—moving idols safely into and out of the water—and a cultural requirement concerning how the process is experienced.
The available evidence confirms the direction of policy but not yet its implementation readiness. The state has expressed its intention to stop crane use, the urban development department has asked local authorities to use conveyor belts, and the KMC is considering both belts and trolleys. A trolley test has begun at Baja Kadamtala Ghat. What remains unsettled is the scale of rollout, the equipment choice at each site and the treatment of smaller ghats and waterbodies.
The next stage will determine whether the proposal becomes a workable municipal system or remains limited to selected large ghats. The key developments to monitor are the outcome of the Baja Kadamtala trial, the technical and operational standards issued for the state-wide policy, and the decisions taken for Kolkata’s smaller immersion locations. Until those details are established, the crane-free plan is best understood as a policy direction whose success will depend on site-specific design rather than a single statewide equipment solution.
