Bhubaneswar: With Ravana Podi bringing a fiery end to the five-day-long Durga Puja festivities on Wednesday, five platoons of the police force have been deployed in Bhubaneswar for smooth conduct of the ritual.
After a fire safety audit, Odisha Fire Service has given permission to Baramunda, Jharpada, Koradakanta and Naharakanta puja mandaps for holding Ravana Podi with the strict instruction that the crackers for setting the effigies ablaze have to be purchased from licensed cracker vendors.
“Permission has been given for holding Ravana Podi at four places in Bhubaneswar with a 100-metre area each near Baramunda, Jharpada, Naharkanta and Koradakanta being declared no man’s land. Those handling firecrackers will have to wear safety gear. Since traffic control will remain a challenge, 5 platoons of policemen with 3 ADCP, 6 ACP and other officers have been deployed,” said Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh.
He further said that no person will be allowed within the 100-metre zone of Ravana Podi. Barricades have been erected for safety.
For traffic management, vehicular traffic on NH-16 from Cuttack will also be diverted from Jayadev Vihar to CRP Square via Behera Sahi, Shastri Nagar, Power House and Unit-8 DAV crossings.
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