New Delhi: With thousands of devotees flocking to Durga Puja pandals, especially in Chittaranjan Park (CR), organisers have implemented a series of measures, from emergency exits to fire precautions, to keep the festivities joyful and safe.
The measures have become more important amid a stampede at the Chorbagan Sarbojanin Durga Puja pandal in north Kolkata, which claimed 19 lives and left 25 people injured on Saturday evening. These include venue-specific security assessments, functional CCTV cameras, adequate barricading, properly planned entry and exit gates, police posts and control rooms within event grounds, and sufficient volunteers to coordinate with police personnel. “Organisers have been asked to inspect fire-fighting equipment, extinguishers, sand and water arrangements daily and ensure they remain functional. Emergency exits and evacuation routes must be clearly marked and kept free of obstructions. “The use of firecrackers and firing is prohibited in or around event venues, while encroachments and hawkers near entrances, exits and pedestrian routes must be removed to prevent bottlenecks.
The CR Park committee has rolled out a special disaster management team, the organisers said. A senior officer said Delhi Police have apprised the Durga Puja and Ramlila organisers of several safety requirements needed to hold large public gatherings. An officer from eastern range said they have asked organisers to ensure stages are structurally sound and can bear heavy weight as people climb them, and to install door-frame and hand-held metal detectors. The officer said organisers have been asked to provide the particulars of volunteers to the concerned station house officers. Electrical installations must be inspected to prevent short circuits and fire hazards, with no loose wires left exposed,” the officer said. Police said that they have also asked them to ensure first-aid facilities, ambulances and medical assistance based on venue requirements. Adequate parking and traffic regulation plans are also required,” a second officer from northern range said. CR Park, home to one of the largest concentrations of Durga Puja celebrations in the Capital, has separate entrances for local residents, senior citizens and people with disabilities, the organiser told HT.
In addition to 10 community puja pandals, 10 pandals will have idols. Delhi Traffic Police has also issued an advisory announcing traffic restrictions around Chittaranjan Park (CR Park), Greater Kailash-II and adjoining areas from October 16 to 20 for Durga Puja celebrations, warning of daily congestion between 4 pm and midnight. Organisers have also coordinated with Delhi Police on residential car passes and evening vehicle restrictions, when footfall is expected to rise. Traffic is likely to be affected on the Outer Ring Road between Vasant Vihar and Modi Mill flyover, Lala Lajpat Rai Marg, August Kranti Marg, Mehrauli-Badarpur Road, Guru Ravidas Marg, Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg and Josip Broz Tito Marg, besides internal roads around the two localities, the advisory added.
Prodip Ganguly, executive member of the Kali Mandir CR Park Mandir Society and chairman of the cultural committee, said, “We have made arrangements for resident passes so that people living in CR Park can access the pandals without getting caught in the rush,” Ganguly said. Organisers have planned separate exits for the community pandals to regulate crowd flow and reduce congestion, they said. “We have ensured that the lighting arrangements are in place and ambulances are available,” Ganguly said. Organisers have also constituted a special disaster management team, whose members have undergone training over the past month under the guidance of former defence personnel, Ganguly said. The advisory said private vehicles will not be allowed into CR Park and GK-II during the restriction hours.
