Work on a puja pandal in progress at Badambadi in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Sept. 13: The Millennium City is gearing up for Durga Puja and the police are planning elaborate security arrangements to ensure that the festivities are incident-free.

Among the foremost of the measures is installation of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) at sensitive places and puja pandals.

The proposals were put forth before the puja committees of different localities at a preparatory meeting held on Tuesday evening. Representatives of more than 100 puja committees, including Cuttack Mahanagar Puja Committee secretary Prabhat Tripathy, were present.

It was decided that emphasis would be given on “community policing” and special police officers (SPOs) would be appointed, apart from adequate security personnel for the smooth conduct of the festival starting from October 2.

“Like previous years, we will form a committee of 10 to 15 SPOs. The SPOs will be assigned various responsibilities at different puja pandals,” said police commissioner B.K. Sharma.

The police personnel will be asked to remain vigilant during Durga Puja.

“Usually, criminals from outside the state are involved in crimes during the festivities. We have recently started a special drive in which many criminals are being taken into preventive custody,” Sharma said.

Preparations are on in full swing for the upcoming Dussehra and this time two more puja committees — Khannagar and Sikharpur — are set to go for chandi medha (silver tableau behind the idols). In all, there will be 14 silver tableaux in the city this year.

Dussehra will be organised in more than 150 puja pandals across the city. Goddess Durga will be worshipped in over 80 puja pandals while 49 will have hara Parbati (Lord Shiva and Goddess Parbati) as the presiding deities.

Special plans will also be drawn up for the immersion of the idols on October 7. Discussion was held on the different routes through which the idols would be taken in processions to be immersed at Debighat.

Senior officials said the puja committees could also take the Shahid Bhavan route to reach Debighat to avoid congestion at Manik Ghose bazaar. Many puja committees have given a number of proposals including relaxing the time period for holding cultural programs during the festival.

Apart from this, emphasis was given on better traffic management so that devotees coming from outside the city do not face problems at various puja pandals, especially the famous Cuttack Chandi temple.