Maintaining a strict vigil over the city, various arms of the district administration will remain on their toes to provide critical services to city dwellers as they participate in Diwali festivities, said officials in the state capital.

Elaborate arrangements are in place ahead of the festival on Thursday, as law and order agencies, health services, fire services, power distribution employees, and the pollution control board are working round the clock to ensure continuity in essential services for residents in the state capital.

Leading the law and order apparatus in the city, Commissioner of Police Harinarayan Chari Mishra said that this year special arrangements have been made for the safety of women, and a strict vigil is being maintained in all city areas frequented by them.

Deployment has been heightened across the city to improve the visibility of personnel and ensure a smooth flow of vehicular traffic and security arrangements in known hotspots."An additional vehicle has been assigned to each police station in the city, and preventive measures are in place," said Mishra.

ADCP Shailendra Chouhan said that the crime branch is keeping a close watch on habitual offenders, and advisories have been issued to curb the spread of rumours.

The advisory has been issued to deter fake lotteries, exorbitant discounts, fake online shopping websites, fake coupons, fake KYC updates, charity and donation messages, and other luring messages.

A close vigil is also being maintained on social media platforms. The central region power distributor said 140 teams, comprising 1,500 employees, are working round the clock to ensure minimum downtimes in the event of wire breaks during the festive period.

Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr Prabhakar Tiwari informs that emergency services will operate at full strength in all major hospitals in the district. Daycare services will also maintain regular hours.

Assistant Fire Officer Iftikhar Ahmed said optimal readiness is being maintained with nearly 300 fire personnel placed at substations and temporary stations in the vicinity of firecracker shops in the city. Maintaining checks on air quality and high decibels, pollution control board official Brijesh Sharma said constant monitoring of air quality and noise pollution is being carried out, and requisite advisories are being forwarded to concerned departments.