Directives from district administration instructing puja organisers to refrain from digging up streets while erecting pandals and makeshift billboards this Durga Puja were apparently not clear enough; at least that is what the dug up streets point towards.
Streets completed barely a few months ago are already in shambles, holes dug in them to plant bamboos which form and support the pandal structures and temporary hoardings. Amidst all this, road construction department finds itself helpless in implementing the instructions in this regard.
“The disrespect for roads in the city continues almost for the entire year. Be it Holika Dahan, Durga Puja or any other festival or occasion, people will burn and dig up the streets despite our requests. We cannot prohibit them as these are matters related to faith. Either allow the damage to roads, or face aggressive retorts,” stated Road Construction Department Engineer-in-Chief Ram naresh Raman.
Traffic congestions on major streets with puja pandals on them are already common. The hue and cry over bad condition of roads in the streets and blame assigned to road construction department seem ironical when the dilapidated streets are a result of lack of civic sense, despite authorities instructing other.
“In our police station-level meetings, we were instructed by the SDO not to dig up streets for pitching bamboo structures. Similar directions were given during our meeting with the Chief Minister. But these instructions were hard to implement in practicality due to lack of space,” stated Ranchi Zila Durga Puja Samiti president Munchun Roy.
He continued, “With increase in costs and competition alike, organisers look forward to put up more majestic puja pandals than previous years. The space used is public and the costs are covered by sponsors. These sponsors stipulate hoardings to be put up advertising their enterprises, which again require bamboo structures to be pitched in by digging up the streets. This is the ground reality.”
But alternatives are being employed, as well as explored for future, organisers assure.
“We are substituting bamboos queue railings with iron ones, which do not require holes for standing upright, so that damage to streets can be minimised. As for pandals structures we are using nearby structures for support rather than digging holes in the streets,” Roy said.
Some sort of stands will be developed for hoardings which are erected in middle of the streets so that the streets do not have to be dug for them, he added.
But in the meantime, repairing the damaged streets seems to be only option. “We will commence repair work after Durga Puja,” said the RCD Engineer-in-Chief.