Ranchi, Oct. 11: The Bharatiya Yuvak Sangh Durga Puja in Bakri Bazar, which attracted a daily average footfall of 15,000 with its 10,000sqft Mysore Mahal-lookalike pandal, is now a frontrunner for the cleanliness crown.
The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) had launched a three-day swachhta assessment, beginning October 9, and the scores until now indicate that a clutch of sensible measures for pandal hygiene undertaken by Bakri Bazar organisers is certainly a winner.
Additional municipal commissioner Bidyanand Sharma Pankaj said a team comprising deputy mayor Sanjiv Vijayvargiya, health officer Dr Kiran and city managers Shahsi, Mritunjay and Saurabh inspected 145 pandals in the city from Ashtami.
"The Pujas were adjudged on eight broad parameters. The daily score target was 1,000. The average of three days will give us our winner and runners-up. The results will be announced later this week. The three Puja organisers will receive trophies and citations at a function," said Pankaj.
Insiders in the RMC told this correspondent Bakri Bazar had notched 800 points on all the three days, thus it boasts a score of 2,400 against a target of 3,000.
"Bakri Bazar alone scored marks under the pit disposal of biodegradable garbage category. The only category where it failed was of segregation of garbage from pandal area," a highly placed source said.
The source elaborated that a lot of open space helped the Bharatiya Yuvak Sangh follow a cleanliness regime. A pit was dug up behind the pandal for disposal of biodegradable garbage (flowers, leaves and such offerings). Arrangements were made for collection of other types of trash that were handed over to RMC vehicles.
"Nearly 50 dustbins were placed at strategic points outside the pandal and around a dozen spit bins were improvised (small barrels filled with sand) for visitors with an affinity for paan or gutkha. Hoardings and placards on cleanliness dotted the pandal area while the organisers used leaf plates for distribution of prasad," the source added.
At least 10 other Durga Pujas among the 145 contenders are vying for the second rank, each with a cumulative three-day score of 1,800.
Asked how the RMC would select the first and second runners-up from among the 10, the additional municipal commissioner said a new committee would assign fresh points on the basis of the remarks column of the visiting team. "We will constitute this other committee soon," Pankaj added.
Sources in the RMC said Harmu Panch Mandir and Satya Amar Lok were strong contenders for the second and third positions, respectively. While the former modelled its pandal on a temple and the ambience evoked tranquillity, the latter borrowed a theme from a Buddhist shrine. Both Pujas saw a daily average footfall of 10,000.
