Bhubaneswar: With just a few days left for Durga Puja, the Commissionerate Police has geared up to keep the state capital crime-free and ensure the puja celebrations are held smoothly.
In order to maintain law and order during the puja and avoid traffic snarls in Bhubaneswar, a coordination meeting was held with all the puja committees at the Police Commissionerate HQ on Thursday.
The meeting was presided over by Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi while Minister Ashok Panda, Mayor Sulochana Das, Jatni MLA Suresh Routray, Bhubaneswar-Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena, and members of various Puja Committees were present.
The Puja Committees apprised the BMC Mayor that the pathetic condition of the roads should be improved in the city so that the charm of the puja remains intact.
Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh stressed the importance of installing CCTV cameras in the Puja pandals and its surrounding areas by all the Puja committees. The DCP expressed hope that the police would be successful in curbing petty crimes and arresting the accused immediately with the help of CCTV surveillance. Even all the puja committee members have said that they will pay attention to installing CCTVs in and around the pandals.
Further, the Commissionerate Police has instructed the puja committees to organise cultural programmes till midnight (12:00 am) and also recommended not to play vibrating music.
To make Puja crime-free, strict security arrangements are being made by the Commissionerate Police. The police will keep an eye on criminals in the city, state and outside the state. Apart from keeping vigil on suspicious people, police will patrol the city streets to prevent theft during the puja.
Similarly, the Puja Committees organizing ‘Ravan Podi’ have been asked to use of noiseless fireworks. Therefore, the ‘Ravan Podi’ spots will be checked from the beginning and the local police will ensure that the sites are far from the human habitation area, informed the Police Commissioner.
It has also been decided that meetings will be held with puja committee members in different police station areas in a phased manner from next Monday.
The puja committee members expressed their opinion that it would be easier for them to inform the departmental officers through the police about the problems in their respective areas.
The coordination meeting was attended by Additional Police Commissioner Umashankar Dash along with other senior police officers and senior officials of Fire, Watco, Tata Power and Traffic departments.
