GUWAHATI: Kamrup (Metro) district administration is working on
traffic management plans to ease congestion during Durga Puja. Police commissioner Pradip Saloi has called all the puja committees of the city to a meeting at at the District Library on October 8 during which modalities such as traffic and crowd management will be discussed.
There are more than 600 community pujas that take place in the city.
Guwahati Development Department minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya, who recently held a meeting with all stakeholders, has asked all concerned departments to focus on traffic management to ensure that no road accident takes place during Durga Puja. To ease congestion, Bhattacharya has also asked the district administration to turn the stretch along the Mahatma Gandhi Road into a 'no-walking zone' till Kali Puja. Traffic police have been asked to be on high alert and watch out for instances of drunk driving.
With parking being a point of major concern, the administration has been instructed to open up the old jail premises at Fancy Bazaar and the under-construction multi-level parking site at Panbazar for parking. Bhattacharya has also asked the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and the district administration to arrange for new points for immersion of idols.
GMC commissioner Monalisa Goswami, who was also present during the meeting, said the corporation has already opened up all the parking places under flyovers. The city will also be kept neat and clean during Durga Puja, she added.
