Kolkata Police has deployed 12,000 personnel and 20,000 temporary home guards across the city from Chaturthi to manage law and order during the Durga Puja rush, while a separate force of 6,000 traffic police and 6,000 temporary traffic home guards has been assigned to control congestion and pedestrian movement.
The deployment began on Wednesday as crowds started gathering at puja pandals, markets and shopping areas ahead of the main festival days. Lalbazar, the city police headquarters, held a meeting with traffic guard officers and senior traffic officials on Tuesday to finalise measures for regulating vehicles and crowds.
According to the report, police have also directed officers to take strict action against helmetless riders and triple-riding on motorcycles, particularly on important routes including the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. The measures come after complaints of intense congestion in Kolkata and its suburbs over the past several days.
Kolkata Police Commissioner Ajay Nanda said on Tuesday that a large number of visitors come to the city from outside during the Puja period. He said problems could arise when vehicles and pedestrians use the roads without adequate discipline, particularly when visitors attempt to cross busy roads. The commissioner attributed part of the congestion to the rise in crowds at the beginning of the festival and the overlap with office-hour traffic.
Nanda said the traffic situation would improve shortly. He also pointed to the growing pressure on the Ma Flyover, where traffic from New Town and Kolkata converges. To prevent breakdowns from blocking the elevated road, arrangements are being made to move disabled vehicles to the side and remove them with small cranes, according to the report.
Lalbazar officials said large crowds had already gathered at several major pandals, while visitors from outside the city and last-minute Puja shoppers were adding to the pressure on roads. Garিয়াহাট in south Kolkata, New Market and Dharmatala in central Kolkata, and Hatibagan and Shyambazar in north Kolkata were identified as key congestion points.
Additional crowding has been reported around Jadavpur, Kasba, Park Circus and shopping malls in north Kolkata. Traffic is expected to slow further after the afternoon as office commuters join the movement of pandal visitors and shoppers. The police said traffic officers were positioned across the city to restore normal movement as quickly as possible.
The deployment illustrates the scale of the mobility challenge created when festival travel, pedestrian activity, retail demand and regular commuting converge on Kolkata’s road network. For residents, the immediate impact will be slower journeys, tighter traffic regulation and increased monitoring on major routes. Lalbazar said government-level discussions were also under way on the traffic-related problems, while officers continued efforts to manage movement across the city.
