Durga Puja, Dussehra in Varanasi: No New Traditions, Immersion Only at Set Sites; Officials Ordered to Fix Wires and Roads

Varanasi's district administration and police have told Durga Puja, Ramlila and fair committees that no new tradition will be allowed during this year's festivals and that idols may be immersed only at designated ponds, tanks and water bodies with enough water.

The direction came at a District Peace Committee meeting chaired jointly by District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar and Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal at the Traffic Police Lines auditorium on Friday, 9 October. Puja organisers, Ramlila committees and fair committees from across the district attended, along with officers from the electricity department, Public Works Department, Jal Kal and the municipal corporation.

Many committee members raised the same problems: damaged electricity poles, wires hanging low over lanes, and potholes on the routes used to bring idols in and take them out for immersion. The DM directed the electricity department and the PWD to repair damaged wires, poles and roads immediately. The PWD, the municipal corporation and the District Panchayat were told to finish patchwork on priority.

Jal Kal was asked to keep drinking water supply steady and put up mobile toilets where needed. The municipal corporation will handle cleaning at pandals, immersion sites and kunds in the city, while the District Panchayati Raj Officer will deploy sanitation workers in rural areas. Bushes along paths leading to immersion sites are to be cleared and the routes lit.

The DM also asked organisers to keep emergency lights and generators at every pandal so that a power cut does not plunge a crowded venue into darkness.

Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal told all ACPs and station in-charges to hold coordination meetings with puja committees at their police stations and to inspect pandals and immersion sites in their areas. Women police personnel will be posted at Ramlila and fair venues. Enough force is to be deployed for crowd control and traffic.

Pandals, Ramlila stages and Ravan Dahan grounds will be barricaded. Large pandals must have CCTV cameras and enough volunteers. Each volunteer should wear a separate jersey or badge or carry an identity card, and the committee must submit the list of volunteers to the local police station.

Organisers were told to finish programmes on time and not to block the full width of roads during immersion processions, which must follow approved routes. The Police Commissioner appealed to committees not to play obscene songs and to use only one or two sound boxes during processions and immersion. Any misleading post on social media should be reported to the police at once, he said.

Additional Commissioner of Police Shivhari Meena, DCPs Gaurav Vanshwal and Rajesh Pandey, the ADCP (Traffic) and ADM City Pankaj Kumar were among those present.

For families planning pandal visits, the practical changes will be visible in the form of barricades at entry points, volunteers with badges, CCTV at the bigger pandals and police deployment around crowded Ramlila grounds. Expect traffic diversions near major pandals in the evenings once the police issue their festival traffic plan. The city's pandal count and civic preparations were set out in our report on 512 pandals and 725 idols this year.

Older residents of the city will remember that festival crowds in the old city lanes around Chowk, Dashashwamedh and Godowlia can build very quickly after dark, and the police usually close some roads to vehicles on the busiest nights. Families with young children or older relatives may find it easier to visit the large pandals in the afternoon, before the evening rush. Parking near the main pandals fills early, so walking or using an e-rickshaw for the last stretch is often faster. Keep phones and wallets in front pockets in crowded spots, and note the nearest police help desk at each large pandal.

Navratri begins on 11 October, Durga Puja's main days start from Saptami, and Vijayadashami falls on 20 October. The Ramnagar Ramlila, now in its third week, continues nightly; read our coverage of the Day 15 leela at Ramnagar.

Residents who notice a dangerous wire, a broken pole or a deep pothole on an immersion route can report it to their local police station or the municipal corporation helpline so it can be fixed before the processions begin.