The District Administration of Tezpur has released detailed guidelines for the celebration of Durga Puja in 2024, emphasizing safety measures and proper conduct during the festivities. These comprehensive regulations cover everything from pandal construction to immersion procedures, ensuring a safe and organized celebration while respecting religious traditions.
The guidelines establish strict requirements for puja mandaps and pandals. All structures must be sufficiently spacious and airy, free from potential hazards, and must not be constructed on roads or in locations that could impede traffic flow. Each mandap must feature separate entry and exit points for male and female devotees, and maintain a properly staffed help desk to assist visitors. Puja committees are encouraged to install CCTV cameras in their mandaps and must engage adequate numbers of volunteers who will assist both devotees and police personnel in traffic management. These volunteers are also required to guard the pandals and idols during night hours.
Environmental considerations form a crucial part of the regulations, with strict adherence required to Central Pollution Control Board guidelines. Idols must be crafted from natural materials and traditional clay, with explicit prohibitions on the use of thermocol or bio-indegradable chemical dyes. Sound restrictions are in place, prohibiting the use of music systems, microphones, and drums before 8:00 AM and after 10:00 PM. All non-biodegradable items must be removed from idols before immersion. Safety measures include mandatory fire extinguishers and sand buckets at each mandap, along with prominently displayed emergency contact numbers for fire stations, police control rooms, and puja committee officials.
The immersion process will be centrally coordinated at Jahazghat, with each puja committee required to contribute Rs. 1,200 towards the arrangements. The district administration will prepare a detailed time schedule and designated routes for immersion to prevent congestion. Only five persons per committee will be allowed beyond the barricades at Jahazghat during the religious immersion process. Additional immersion locations will be managed by circle officers in coordination with police station officers-in-charge. Committees are specifically instructed to monitor and prevent the use of alcohol and other intoxicating substances during immersion processions, and only devotional and spiritual music is permitted during these processions. For emergency assistance, the DDMA Control Room can be contacted at 9435371672/0312-220110, and the Police Control Room at 7086993898.
