Kolkata Police and hospitals organised guided Durga Puja pandal tours this week for children with special needs, children living with blood disorders and senior citizens, creating dedicated access to the city’s crowded festive spaces.
Kolkata Police held a Puja Parikrama on Wednesday for 300 children with special needs and their caregivers, along with 450 senior citizens from the Pranam community. The event was flagged off by Kolkata commissioner of police Ajay Nand, IPS, in the presence of senior police officers.
The initiative was organised under Pranam, the police department’s community policing wing for senior citizens. Participants were provided guided transportation and dedicated assistance to help them visit major Durga Puja pandals safely and comfortably during the peak festive rush.
The arrangements address a practical challenge faced by many residents during Durga Puja. Large crowds, traffic diversions, long walking distances and congested approaches to pandals can make festival access difficult for people with mobility, health or care needs. The police initiative placed assistance and transport at the centre of the outing rather than leaving families and caregivers to manage the city’s festive crowds independently.
At NRS Medical College & Hospital, the department of haematology took close to 50 children living with different types of blood disorders to pandals including Mohammad Ali Park Durga Puja and Mechhua Bazaar Sarbojanin on Thursday. The programme was organised in collaboration with CANKIDs and KIDSCAN under the theme “Life Beyond Illness”.
Prof Rajib De, a haemato-oncologist who accompanied the children and other officials, said prolonged treatment and the challenges associated with blood disorders can limit patients’ everyday experiences. He said the outing offered them an opportunity to experience the colours and cultural richness of Durga Puja. The initiative was supported by department head Prof Tuphan Kanti Dolai and other officials at the state-run medical college.
De also said holistic healthcare extends beyond medical treatment to emotional well-being, social inclusion and shared experiences. The hospital-led outing therefore connected clinical care with the ability of children undergoing prolonged treatment to participate in a major public celebration.
Woodlands Hospital organised the third edition of its community outreach initiative, “Khudeder Puja Safar”, for 20 children on Wednesday. The children began the day at the hospital, where they participated in prayers and blessings and inaugurated the hospital’s Durga idol in the presence of Rupak Barua, managing director and chief executive officer of Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital.
They then travelled to several well-known Durga Puja pandals across Kolkata, viewing the themes, installations, lights and decorations that define the city’s annual celebration. The hospital described the programme as a specially curated Puja Parikrama designed to give children a direct experience of the festival.
Together, the initiatives show how police departments, public hospitals and private hospitals used organised transport, caregiving support and curated routes to include residents who may otherwise find crowded festival spaces difficult to access. Kolkata Police’s programme included 750 participants across children with special needs, caregivers and senior citizens, while the two hospital initiatives covered another 70 children according to the details released about the outings.
