A heavy Kumartuli crowd disrupted traffic and made it difficult for artisans to dispatch Durga idols to pandals and homes in north Kolkata on Mahalaya, with congestion reported across Rabindra Sarani, Madanmohantala Street and surrounding lanes.
According to a report by Bartaman Patrika, visitors began arriving from the morning to collect idols from artisans’ workshops. Many also visited the Dhakeshwari Temple in Kumartuli before taking the images to their destinations. As the day progressed, the area became increasingly crowded, particularly around Bonamali Sarkar Street.
Babu Pal, an office-bearer of a mritshilpi organisation, said that the traditional eye-painting ceremony, known as chokkhu daan, was held in the workshops of several artisans. He said there was heavy footfall from the morning as people arrived to take idols to puja venues.
The concentration of visitors and vehicles slowed movement across a wider part of north Kolkata. The report said that vehicles moved slowly along Rabindra Sarani and Madanmohantala Street, while the crowd in Kumartuli created difficulties for those transporting the idols.
The congestion also affected the artisans’ work. Several potters expressed anger over visitors stopping for photographs inside or outside the workshops at a time when the idols were being prepared for dispatch. They said that a rush to take pictures during the final stage of the work could disrupt production and delay other tasks.
The crowd came as the city observed Mahalaya, when many families and puja organisers traditionally collect Durga idols. Kumartuli, Kolkata’s historic potters’ quarter, sees a sharp increase in activity during the days before Durga Puja as finished images leave the workshops for neighbourhood pandals and private homes.
The day also drew visitors to nearby Shyampukur, where people gathered outside the former residence of Birendra Krishna Bhadra on Ramdhan Mitra Lane. Bhadra was associated with the enduring radio presentation of Mahishasuramardini. Visitors viewed a plaque at the house, placed flowers at his bust and took photographs, while some carried kans grass as a mark of respect. The gathering included young visitors and members of the media.
Mohanlal Prajapati, an office-bearer of a soil-related artisans’ organisation, said there had been anxiety before the festival because of a soil shortage. He said the issue had been resolved and that artisans were able to hand over the idols to organisers on schedule. For the potters, however, the Mahalaya crowd brought a separate operational problem: ensuring that fragile idols could leave congested lanes while workshops continued their final work.
The Bartaman Patrika report did not specify any formal traffic diversion or crowd-management plan for Kumartuli. It said the situation remained particularly difficult on Bonamali Sarkar Street, where the volume of visitors interfered with the movement of idols from the workshops.
