Idol of Goddess Durga at a mandap at Old Station, Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

Rourkela, Oct. 9: The district administration and officials of the Rourkela Steel Plant are taking all possible measures for a smooth Durga Puja celebration in town.

The district administration has formed Central Puja Committee, a nodal agency, to coordinate with all other Puja committees and government agencies on issues ranging from granting permissions to traffic arrangements.

Vice-president of the committee Subhendu Panda said at a meeting held yesterday, the police made plans for better crowd and traffic management.

“At the meeting it was decided that all the 97 Puja committees will provide at least 20 volunteers to the local police station and they will help in crowd and traffic management during the festival. As there is shortage of cops, help from Puja committees will ensure smooth movement of pandal-hoppers,” said Panda.

A pandal, which resembles the Sun Temple of Konark, at Sector-I of Rourkela. Picture by Uttam Kumar Pal

A traffic cop said vehicles would be diverted to avoid congestion on the road and near pandals.

“Puja committees have also been told to have place for parking vehicles near the mandaps,” said a senior police officer.

A senior police officer said tough action would be taken against trouble mongers. “Major Puja committees have been instructed to install closed circuit television cameras,” said a police official.

The Rourkela Steel Plant employees and the Central Puja Committee members today distributed leaflets bearing instruction or dos and don’ts about electrical safety, fire safety and other safety measures to be adopted during the celebrations.

The Puja committees have also been asked to conduct the immersion of the deities in a systematic manner to ensure a smooth and hassle-free end to the festivities.

At a meeting held earlier, the additional district magistrate had asked government agencies to carry out repair of road works and streetlights near all the Puja mandaps.