Docs’ team checks Cov compliance at pandals – Times of India

Kolkata: A group of doctors fanned out across Puja pandals of Kolkata on Friday to inspect if the latter complied with Covid protocols and had Covid awareness initiatives and emergency medical facilities at the venues. The team members were pleasantly surprised to find all seven pandals they visited this year 1 all in the same zone — ready to implement Covid-control measures.
“This Durga Puja being the second since the pandemic onset, most organizers seem to be aware of the Covid-19 protocols and kept those in mind while designing their pandals. We are satisfied with the kind of measures in place at the pandals we visited today,” said endocrinologist Soumik Goswami of NRS Medical College and a member of Protect the Warriors (PTW) that organized the inspection. PTW is an organization of medics working to spread awareness on Covid.
It is the second the organization conducting such inspections. Some of the pandals the teams visited on Friday included Mohamad Ali Park, Santosh Mitra Square, Chalta Bagan, Singhi Park and Maddox Square. Some of the pointers the doctors teams inspected during their visits included if they had separate entry and exit points, awareness material on Covid-19, emergency medical facilities, crowd-control measures and if the pandals were erected according to the government guideline.
“We came across most pandals abiding by the Covid-19 norms. Apart from minor suggestions, we did not have much to tell the organizers at most places,” said Nivedita Das, public health specialist attached with College of Medicine and Sagor Dutta Hospital.
PTW will be visiting more pandals in Kolkata on Saturday. Apart from giving its suggestions on preventing the disease spread during the festival, the organization will also be awarding Covid Joyee Sharad Samman to pandals comply with Covid protocols.
“We started with pandals in the city last year and this year we have got requests from many organizers from the districts to visit their pandals for suggestion and support on Covid awareness. This year, we expect bigger footfall at Puja pandals since most are vaccinated. Hence, the responsibility cannot be left to the organizers alone. People visiting pandals too need to play their part by adopting to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour,” said PTW secretary Abhik Ghosh.