The Durga Puja pandal, which is a replica of Burj Khalifa Dubai’s most well-known skyscraper, is currently Kolkata’s most hyped place. This Burj Khalifa Durga Puja pandal is created at Sreebhumi, Lake Town in Kolkata. The bundle is well known for its laser show but unfortunately this year it has suspended this spectacular laser show that had emerged as a show stopper. The decision to suspend the laser show was taken after many complaints well received by the airline pilots on Monday evening.
The pilots started to complain about the laser lights that included their cockpits, at the time when they were approaching Kolkata airport to land. According to the Civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), they mandated an 18.5 km radius exclusion zone for laser lights around airports to prevent pilots from getting blinded due to the laser beams at the time of the crucial landing phase. And Sreebhumi’s Durga Puja pandal is barely 8.5km from the runway and is also next to the aircraft approach funnel.
The organizers of the Puja which is helmed by Sujit Bose, the state fire minister, informed that they had to voluntarily stop the laser display which takes place on the 145-ft pandal to control the crowds. Doctors and residents had also expressed their fears of the area that may turn into a Covid zone due to lakhs of people crowding the narrow lanes that lead to the Durga Puja pandal.
The chief coordinator of the Puja committee, Dibyendu Goswami, said, “We decided to suspend the laser show as revelers were refusing to move on and recording it on their cellphones. As a result, crowd control was becoming a challenge. The tail of the crowd was spilling onto the main road and creating a traffic bottleneck there. We don’t want people to get infected or sick while coming to enjoy the festival.”
According to some sources, it is said that pilots around 4 slides have complained about the disturbance caused due by laser lights which momentarily blind the pilot’s vision in the cockpit. Out of four complaints three of the complaints were made by the pilots through the VHF radio set directly to the air traffic control, then it was duly reported to the Airport Operations Command Centre. One of the pilots got disappointed and angry about the laser lights and thus he made a written complaint to the Airports Authority of India. The three complaints which were made by the pilots were received between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The complaint which was made by the fourth pilot was received a little later.
According to an official, “From Monday, the wind direction changed leading to pilots approaching the runway from Rajarhat to the south of the airport. When they complained of laser beams, the flights were at an altitude of 1,500-1,800 ft and descending fast to touch down in less than 5 minutes. Any intrusion at this juncture is not only irritating, but it is also hazardous as well,”
According to some reports, it is known that the information about the problem that the pilots were facing due to the high decibel laser show was sent to the state administration also including the top officials. Well, earlier similar complaints have been received as pilots have also complained about the laser shows taking place at Kali Puja or even the functions which are held on the city is eastern and northern fringes. The airport authorities in Kolkata have complained about it to the police regarding this issue. Kolkata’s Sreebhumi Club is well known for coming up with amazing Durga Puja themes every year. And this year, the theme of the pandal is Burj Khalifa. To make the show a spectacular one, Multiple lasers were used in Sreebhumi.
