Patna: Patna is gearing up for Durga Puja with 525 pandals spread across the city, but fire safety officials have declared 35 of them unsafe. District Fire Officer Manoj Nat said the unsafe pandals, mainly due to loose or over-wiring and narrow exits, had been categorised as dangerous and organisers were given three days to meet safety standards.
The fire department has also written to electricity boards in both rural and urban areas to fix dangling wires. With heavy footfall expected at the pandals, authorities have put 80 fire vehicles on alert, stationed at major locations such as Dakbanglow Chauraha, Mahavir Mandir, Patan Devi, AIIMS Roundabout and Pataliputra Roundabout. A control room will monitor the situation round the clock.
Among the sites flagged unsafe are pandals under the Lohanipur Bridge, behind Saguna Mor, at Churi Market, Govind Mitra Road, near Chitkohar Shiva Temple, and at Takiapur on Gola Road.
Officials stressed that while Patna is hosting hundreds of pandals this year, public safety remains the priority.
