Latehar police hold peace committee meeting ahead of Durga Puja
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK Daltonganj, October 5: Latehar police held a peace committee meeting on Sunday evening ahead of Durga Puja, with…
THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Daltonganj, October 5: Latehar police held a peace committee meeting on Sunday evening ahead of Durga Puja, with officials and community representatives discussing security, safety, and arrangements for the festival.
SDPO Sadar Latehar Sandip Kumar Gupta chaired the meeting, attended by civil officials and members of the peace committee.
Gupta said there are 35 Puja pandals within the limits of Latehar police station, of which 13 are unlicensed.
The Latehar police station jurisdiction covers 18 panchayats and more than 160 villages, spread over an area of around 458 sq km.
Focus on safety and communal harmony
Officer-in-charge of Latehar police station Ashok Paswan said the police station oversees both urban and rural areas and that there is no separate Sadar police station in Latehar.
“Our concern is safety and harmony. There can’t be any compromise on it. The turnout in the peace committee meeting cutting across faith and party lines was overwhelming,” Gupta said.
However, women’s participation remained limited. As in many peace committee meetings across Jharkhand, their participation was in the single digits. Gupta said women members of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) do participate in such meetings.
Immersion routes being prepared
Gupta said the Ouranga River is the major immersion point and that routes leading to the immersion sites are being repaired and improved ahead of the festival.
Puja pandal management committees have been instructed to ensure proper and secure electricity connections. They have also been asked to avoid the use of synthetic and plastic materials in pandals.
The organisers were specifically directed to install CCTV cameras and make adequate fire-fighting arrangements.
Gupta said instances had been noticed where a leaking bucket containing only a small quantity of sand was kept in a corner of a pandal as a fire-fighting measure, which was inadequate.
SP warns against activities disturbing social harmony
Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav appealed to people to celebrate Durga Puja with grandeur and enthusiasm while ensuring that no activity harms society or disturbs the social fabric.
He warned that the Latehar police would take strict action against elements found engaging in activities detrimental to peace and social harmony.
