Post Puja:

The hustle bustle of the event peaks towards the end of Puja when
millions of devotees join in procession to immerse the idol. This activity
starts of Dashami. Usually, in a city there are designated security guarded
ghats where the immersion process is carried out. For example, Kolkatta
has 13 such ghats along the bank of river Hoogly, where the idols are
carried directly from Puja pandal. The last leg of this mega festival is
celebrated with full intensity of zeal and enthusiasm. Sheer number of
people involved in the immersion process makes it prone to
mismanagement and in worst undesirable accidents. Thus, this activity
becomes a critical one which requires utmost planning and coordination
between the people and the authorities micromanaging the Puja.
Measures like assigning specific days for post-puja ceremony; restricting
vehicles carrying non-immersion goods during peak time etc. have been
extensively followed during the recent times. The immersion activity lasts
for about 3 to 4 days.
After the immersion is done, the authorities starts cleaning up the rivers
and nearby areas which gets deeply affected by the sheer intensity of
people associated with Puja. To control waste or the remains of idols
running down downstream, cranes are installed. Other activities
associated with cleaning the river and environment in general is carried
out to restore the nature in its previous state as much as possible. The
cleaning activity usually takes about 15 to 20 days.
After the Puja is done, a string of activities that aims to restore the city to
its normal self, starts. One of the major activities in this regards is
dismantling all the temporary structures. Pre and during Durga puja,
thousands of temporary structures such as Pandals, workshops,
maintenance sheds, starts breeding in the city to fulfil the needs of
materials as well as services needed in Durga Puja. Thousands of people
flock to the cities like Kolkatta etc. in search of employment or business
opportunities. You can easily see makeshift arrangements and
encroachments on to the streets which needs to be removed. This activity
can take about 7 to 10 days in total.
The final activity in the list of post-puja activity is taking feedback from all
the stakeholders and recording the data. This data is then analysed to find
out the areas of strength and weakness in the execution of this year's
puja. Results drawn from this activity will be used to make the
arrangements of next year's puja in a better manner. Feedback collected
and analysed in a systematic way can go a long way in improving the
whole system and would allow to eliminate the problems faced this years.

It is a continuous process and that's how a system improves. The process

might take around 3 to 4 months of time and must be completed well
before the time the arrangements of next year puja starts.