Durga puja pandals to pose challenge for cops

Bhubaneswar: Mandaps in the city are scrambling to finish the decorations as Durga puja celebrations are only a fortnight away. As many puja pandals are situated on the sides of the road, traffic is likely to be affected during the festival days.
In order to manage traffic in front of the pandals there would be a larger deployment of police personnel. The fact that Durga puja is being observed after a two-year hiatus caused by the Covid epidemic, massive crowds are set to swarm the mandaps. Big mandaps located on the roadsides, which may cause traffic congestion are Laxmi Sagar Durga Puja Committee, Bomikhal Durga Puja Committee, Hara-Parvati Puja Committee at Unit-1.
“Police have instructed us to make additional provisions for crowd management,” said Sachi Nandan Nayak, secretary,Saheed Nagar Durga Puja Committee.
“We have asked the puja organisers to deploy enough volunteers around the pandals to assist the police. The police will also intensify the drive against illegally parked vehicles. We have already started decongesting the roads by reducing extra constructions of barricades and deployed extra manpower at traffic joints,” said Swastic Panda, ACP traffic.
“The roads are already completely congested with vehicles, the situation on city roadways would also worsen as the festivities start,” said Manasi Rath, a teacher.