Ranchi: With large crowds expected at 176 Durga Puja pandals across the city, civic authorities and organising committees are stepping up arrangements for crowd control, traffic management, safety and basic amenities.At a meeting with puja committee representatives on Tuesday, chief minister Hemant Soren directed the administration to ensure adequate law and order, electricity, water, sanitation and traffic arrangements. He said women, children and senior citizens should be able to visit pandals without inconvenience.The delegation thanked the govt and district administration for their support and invited Hemant to visit pandals across the city. Accepting the invitation, the chief minister urged organisers to adopt eco-friendly idol immersion practices and spread anti-drug awareness through banners, hoardings and announcements.Ranchi Zila Durga Puja Committee president Rajendra Singh said volunteers would regulate crowds, assist devotees and monitor entry and exit points. Committees are also working on parking arrangements, fire safety, security for women and children, and ensuring access for emergency services.“Help desks and volunteers will be deployed at key locations to assist children and other devotees who may get separated from their families,” Singh said.The Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has begun a branch-wise review of arrangements at all 176 pandals under its jurisdiction. Additional municipal commissioner Sanjay Kumar said the engineering wing had been asked to supply stone dust wherever required. Puja committees have sought more than 700 tractor-loads.The civic body will identify roads requiring repairs and provide excavator support. It also plans to install more than 600 slabs over open drains to reduce accident risks.Sanitation workers will operate in three shifts for sweeping, garbage collection, bleaching and grass cutting. Special cleaning will be carried out at immersion sites.The electricity wing will maintain street lights and deploy additional teams in Main Road, Bada Talab and Upper Bazar. Horticulture teams will prune hazardous branches, while health teams will conduct fogging and dog catching drives and arrange modular toilets and water tankers.The transport wing will prepare routes for free city bus services during the festival to ease movement and support traffic management during peak hours and immersion processions.
