GUWAHATI: As the Durga Puja festivities begin in Guwahati, the city has been witnessing an enthusiastic participation from one and all, be it devotees, pandal hoppers or puja committees.
In order to ensure safe and peaceful puja celebrations this year, the district administration is going all out with its preparedness measures. Over the years, Guwahati has seen a considerable rise in the number of puja pandals being built during the festival in various parts of the city.
This year, the authorities have issued a set of guidelines for the Durga Puja organising committees. The officials from the district administration, city police and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) held a joint meeting with members from various puja organising committees from all over the district this week at the district library.
A list of do’s and don’ts to be followed by the puja organisers were discussed during this meeting. The organisers have been asked to ensure complete safety of all temporary structures, electrical fittings and especially fire, among others. The puja committees have been directed to keep a designated area clear for emergency evacuation. Further, officials have directed that a medical team including a doctor must be ready to handle any case of medical emergency in every pandal.
Talking about volunteers, police officials appealed to the committees to appoint enough number of male as well as female volunteers to manage the expected crowd of visitors.
“The volunteers should be briefed well in advance about their responsibilities and they should also be provided with easily distinguishable identity cards,” informed officials.
Stressing on the need to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene in and around puja pandals, GMC commissioner Monalisa Goswami told the organisers to ensure segregation of dry and wet waste generated from the pandals.
“Swachh Sarvekshan 2019 is approaching and the city will be evaluated on the basis of various parameters. We have already started preparing for it well in advance and would request you to help in ‘source segregation of waste’ during the festival,” said Goswami.
She further asked the puja committees to put up litter bins near all the pandals.
Officials are also keeping a check on forceful collection of cash donations for the Durga Puja. “We get several complaints during the festive season regarding forced collection of money for organising puja. I would like to appeal to all the organisers to not collect money from anyone forcefully as it is an illegal activity,” informed joint commissioner of police Diganta Barah.
He also cautioned the puja organising committees to refrain from using loudspeakers after the designated time at night. “Many households have infants, elderly or someone, who is unwell. We must take care not to disturb anyone and I request you to follow the directions of the court regarding loudspeakers,” he said.
Additionally, puja committees have been given strict instructions to ban the use of alcohol or any kind of drugs from the venues. Keeping in mind the safety and security of the pandal, keeping a guard for vigil has also been made mandatory.
Tobacco-free pandals and environment-friendly puja in Guwahati
In the same vein, the Kamrup (Metro) district administration appealed the Durga Puja celebration committees in Guwahati to make the pandals tobacco-free zones.
The district administration has requested puja committees to display at least two hoardings at every Durga Puja pandal with the slogan of “No smoking Area – Smoking here is an offence” and “Saradiya Puja Dhapat Mukta Puja”.
Stating tobacco as one of the leading causes of death in the world, the administration urged the puja celebration committees to display hoardings denouncing the use of tobacco and announcing it as a tobacco-free zone.
The puja committees have unanimously agreed to the appeal of the district administration.
Additionally, sensitising the organisers about the environmental concerns faced in the aftermath of Durga Puja, GMC commissioner Monalisa Goswami said that whenever they carry out de-siltation drives in the city, plastic is the main substance clogging the drains.
“In the pandals and even after the immersion rituals are carried out, items made of plastic are seen in abundance around the ghats,” she informed.
Assistant Deputy Commissioner (Kamrup) Pulak Mahanta requested the puja committees to refrain from using plastic in any form such as plastic plates, bottles, glasses or polythene bags inside the pandals and throwing them in the nearby drains, to prevent water logging in the future.
He further added that as plastic does a long-term harm to the environment, they should consider using alternatives for plastic, like paper, during the festival. Officials informed that GMC workers would clean the premises twice everyday during the festival period.
Further, appraising the puja celebration committees about fire and emergency preparedness during puja celebrations, deputy director of fire and emergency services Jayshree Khesra told the organisers to keep ample space in all the pandals so that fire services vehicles can enter in case of an emergency. She also asked the puja committees not to use any synthetic material in the construction of pandals.
Further, Khesra also told the committees to save and contact toll-free emergency numbers in case of any fire-related emergency in the pandals.
Puja committees have also been told to install sufficient CCTV cameras in and around puja pandals at strategic locations in consultation with the local police station.
With a view to provide respite to devotees and visitors at the pandals, commissioner of police Pradip Chandra Saloi asked the committees to ensure a designated parking place for the visitors.
He added that the organisers must construct different entries for ladies and gents at the pandals and said that NSS volunteers will be there to help the office-bearers of the puja committees.
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Commenting on the need to ensure safe and unadulterated food distributed at the pandals, Saloi requested the committees to take special care of the food stalls and ensure that they sell hygienic and safe food.
In order to ease vehicular movement throughout the city during the 10 days of the Durga Puja, authorities informed that they will be making specific plans for traffic routes for puja and immersion.
