The state government has taken precautionary measures to ensure a safe Chhath to avert a Gandhi Maidan-like tragedy.
“To ensure better management and coordination of the 72 Chhath ghats in Patna, the government has decided to divide the responsibility of the ghat management between the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (BUIDCo) and Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC),” chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said.
BUIDCo and PMC would carry out maintenance, cleanliness, sanitation, water and power supply at 36 ghats each, Singh added.
The decision was taken at a meeting convened by the chief secretary on Tuesday to review the preparations of Chhath ghats.
Urban development and housing department secretary, Patna divisional commissioner, inspector-general, district magistrate, senior superintendent of police, PMC commissioner, BUIDCo managing director and other senior officials attended the meeting.
The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of the administration’s failure to provide safety and security at Gandhi Maidan during Ravan Vadh on the occasion of Dussehra that claimed 33 lives.
Singh said people would be requested not to go to the ghats, which are dangerous. The government would take the help of the media in publicising the dangerous and vulnerable ghats so that the message could reach the common people.
“People have been asked not to burst crackers at the ghats,” he said, adding that strong pontoon bridges would be made this year taking lessons from the 2012 Adalat Ghat tragedy. Singh added that security of Gandhi Maidan, which also witnessed serial blasts on October 27, 2013, would be strengthened.
Flood funds
The cabinet on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 32.5 crore for distribution of cash among flood victims of 2014, cabinet secretariat department principal secretary Brajesh Mehrotra told reporters. The funds would be made available from the Bihar contingency funds.
The cabinet also sanctioned Rs 3.1 crore as grant to Bihar Foundation for the financial year 2014-15, the principal secretary said.
