The Patna district administration will make pre-emptive arrests to maintain peace in the coming festive season.

An order in this connection was passed on Tuesday following a review meeting on policing and other arrangements required for the Durga Puja celebrations. Divisional commissioner Anand Kishor chaired the meeting which was attended by Patna district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, Patna municipal commissioner Abhishek Singh, deputy inspector-general (central range) Rajesh Kumar, city superintendent of police (central) D. Amarkesh and traffic SP P.K. Das.

Officials concerned have been asked to invoke sections 107 and 113 of the Indian Penal Code to make preventive arrests of criminals.

Kishor said as Dussehra and Muharram are only a day apart, the administration will take precautionary measures.

The district administration for the first time this year will form a WhatsApp group to ensure proper co-ordination between police and district administration officials in case of any incident.

The administration has directed officials to issue licences to pandals and to take out Muharram processions by September 10. Before that, personnel have to carry out on-spot verification of pandals and routes on which the procession will be taken out. Kishor said: "CCTV cameras will be installed at all the big Puja pandals without which licences will not be issued. Action will be taken against block development officers and police station house officers if any unlicensed Pujapandals are found in their areas. Certificates have to be submitted by September 15, declaring that no unlicensed Puja pandals exist in their areas. Only, the district magistrate and senior superintendent of police will be entitled to grant permission for any new Pujapandals or Muharram processions."

The Patna Electric Supply Undertaking has been directed to ensure no pandal use electricity illegally. For a peaceful Puja , all boats plying in the Ganga would have to be registered, all Ganga ghats have to be inspected before idol immersion and loudspeakers cannot be used after 10pm.

To meet medical exigencies, the Patna civil surgeon has been directed to set up a 24x7 control room at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), Kishor said, adding that the civic body has been asked to repair all high-mast lights at Gandhi Maidan for Ravan Vadh on October 1.