Flouting of set guidelines endangers puja celebrations 

NET News Network

Guwahati, Oct 18: With less than 24 hours to go for the Durga puja, sheer confusion seems to be prevailing among the city puja committees over implementation of the instructions given by the district administration for maintaining safety during the celebrations. 

Most of the committees found to be either unaware or not at all bothered with the security arrangements of the district administration. 

The Kamrup district administration, metropolitan during a meeting with puja committees on October four last asked everyone here not to erect puja pandals on the roadsides and to erect about eight feet high watchtowers to facilitate the police and volunteers to monitor the movements of devotees. Besides, the administration had also asked the committees to depute some volunteers who will be trained up by the concerned police stations to help their personnel monitor the situation. 

Talking to the northeasttribune.com, Secretary of Ranibari puja committee Suren Medhi said they obtained special permission from the district administration to hold the puja on the roadside. On erecting of the platform, Mr Meedhi said “it is not needed for the place is a high one and that everything could be monitored easily from the adjacent walls.” 

Similarly, the Arjya Club of Rajgarh had erected the pandal in the middle of the road by blocking the traffic.  A member of the Club, Dwijesh Das said they had obtained permission from the administration. He, however, said the committee would use the nearby City Heart Nursing Home as the watchtower adding CC camera would also be installed there for better monitoring of the situation.  

But both said they were unaware about the training programme of the volunteers as announced by the district administration. Another puja committee at Christianbasti on the GS Road echoed the same. 

Meanwhile, Magistrate of Kamrup Administration (Metro) Hitesh Deva Sarma said no special permission had been given to anybody except the one at Athgaon keeping in view the threat perception.  The Athgaon committee would hold the puja on the half done flyover, he said adding they had also obtained an NOC from the PWD for the purpose. Mr Deva Sarma said the administration had given sample ID cards for the volunteers and that those would have to be collected by the puja committees from the nearest police stations. 

On the other hand, DSP PK Saikia of the Police HQ at Panbazar said he had hold meetings with the puja committees, Taxi and Auto Associations and others Citizen’s forums seeking their cooperation over the issue. People’s cooperation was highly needed to foil any attempt of the militants to disrupt the celebrations, he said. Interestingly, the senior official contradicted the Magistrate and said the ID cards for volunteers would be issued only by the district administration.