Patna, Oct. 21: The Patna district administration has set October 23 as the deadline for idol immersion for Durga Puja organisers.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Vikas Vaibhav told The Telegraph today that because of Muharram on October 24 and the elections in Patna on October 28, the Puja committees have been asked to finish up the immersion ceremonies by October 23 (Friday).

"The administration has asked the organisers to ensure that the idol immersion ceremony is over by 10pm on October 23. The arrangements on the ghats are being made by the agencies concerned. Once the immersions are over, the police will move on to ensure a safe Muharram followed by the elections," the SSP said.

In between the Dussehra and the Muharram, there is a gap of a day and the committees should make full use of it.

"An advice for them would be to start preparing for the immersion early and try to complete it during the daytime. If the ceremony is completed on October 23, the police can shift its entire focus from Muharram to the elections," another police officer said.

There are around 1,500 Puja pandals in Patna district.

District administration authorities said more than 30 ghats have been chosen in different parts of Patna for idol immersion.

"In the past few years, many Puja committees took their own sweet time for the immersion with some of them taking out the procession thrice after Dussehra. Though the administration is not talking about any kind of penalty if one misses the deadline, a delay will add to the administration's woes," said an official at the district administration.

The committees have been requested to ensure that children are not part of the immersion procession at any cost.

"The ghats would see heavy crowd and they are requested to remain patient and cooperate with the police and the paramilitary forces. Teams of the NDRF, SDRF and independent divers have been asked to patrol," the official said.