Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Sept. 30: Fast repair of roads ahead of Puja dominated council meetings of the civic bodies in the twin cities today.

While each ward under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) will get an additional Rs 3 lakh before Puja to carry out road repair, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) will spend Rs 2.5 lakh for the same purpose.

BMC mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said teams would be formed to work on the complaints received regarding any street lights near Puja pandals.

The civil engineering wing has also been asked to take stock of the situation of the roads near the pandals and start the repair work as early as possible. "I have asked the city engineer to direct all contractors to finish the pending work before the Puja," Jena said.

BMC commissioner Krishan Kumar said: "The puja organisers would be asked to follow guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board on making of the idols. No use of toxic artificial colours would be allowed, and they should make sure that use of plastics and non-biodegradable material is minimum. The puja organisers are also supposed to use the three temporary ponds - two near the Kuakhai and one near the Daya river bed for immersion."

Kumar said that apart from water pollution, the organisers would also be asked to make sure that they did not flout the noise pollution norms. "The home department has codified rules on this regard, and they would be asked to abide by them," he said.

In Cuttack, the councillors cutting across party lines today demanded urgent steps for repairs of the roads. Utter chaos initially dominated the CMC council meeting over lack of development activities.

Tension also prevailed during the meeting after BJD councillor Ranjita Biswal of ward No. 7 had staged an agitation to protest against civic apathy towards setting up a dispensary in her ward. Biswal alleged that despite assurances, the CMC was yet to open an existing homeopathy dispensary that had been closed since 2012.

Earlier, Congress councillor of ward No. 4 Giribala Behera alleged that the CMC had failed to undertake steps for all round development of the city.

"With Dussehra a few weeks away, the civic body has failed to take any measure for the immediate repair of the roads," she said.

"The corporation has also failed to come up with new avenues to generate revenue as various projects, including the Town Hall renovation, is yet to be over," she said.

Many councillors also expressed concern over the lack of co-ordination between the CMC officials and the Japan International Co-operation Agency executing the integrated sanitation project in Cuttack.

"Today, we have urged the civic officials to speed up the process for undertaking the repair of major roads keeping in view the Puja," said BJD councillor of ward No. 31 Bijay Sahoo.

Deputy mayor Ajay Barik said already the council had prepared a detailed plan to streamline sanitation, road repair and improvement of street lights ahead of the Puja. "Around Rs 2.5 lakh will be provided to each ward to carry out the works," said Barik.

He also said that as the weather had improved after continuous downpour last week, it was hoped that the road restoration would be executed smoothly in the coming days.