The district administration is all set to issue standard operational procedures for construction of Durga Puja pandals, taking a lesson from two back-to-back incidents in 2018 and 2017 when fire gutted pandals in heavily populated areas.
A committee, to be headed by Ranchi deputy development commissioner (DDC), will inspect major Puja pandals of Ranchi as a part of fire safety audit to start in a couple of days, said Ranchi subdivisional officer (SDO) Lokesh Mishra on Sunday.
SDO Mishra, who would also be a member of this panel, said officials of state electricity and fire departments would play a pivotal part in the proceedings.
“Under no circumstances will a pandal’s security aspects be compromised with. Each pandal, depending on size and expected crowd, has to have an adequate number of fire extinguishers, buckets and sandbags. Fire tenders also will have to be on alert. Puja organisers also need to ensure that pandals have approach roads for firefighting vehicles to enter, if the need arises,” SDO Mishra added.
Last year, the Puja pandal of Pragati Prateek Club at Kishoreganj was gutted in fire due to a short-circuit. In 2017, the Puja pandal of RR Sporting Club on Ratu Road was destroyed in a blaze caused by carelessly dumped inflammable items near the venue. Luckily, in both cases, there was no casualty. This year, continuous unseasonal rain may make many Puja pandal illuminations vulnerable to short-circuit.
Ranchi DC Rai Mahimapat Ray, who had chaired a meeting on Saturday regarding fire safety at Durga Puja venues, said each of the 151 pandals in Ranchi needed to follow protocols to prevent a rerun of the incidents of the last two years.
SDO Mishra said that was why they decided the electricity department experts had a big role in the fire safety audit this time. “In most cases, short-circuit causes fire due to poorly executed and open wiring. Often Puja pandals are erected close to overhead wires. This time such constructions will be banned. Puja organisers have to take no-objection certificate from the electricity department.” said Mishra.
A source in Ranchi district administration said the administration was in no mood to relax security norms.
“Organisers will have to show the blueprint of the pandal whenever asked. In fact, even the stage for cultural programmes at pandals will be inspected carefully,” he said. “Also, no pandals are allowed near rail tracks to prevent an Amritsar-like tragedy.”