Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has ordered officials and utility agencies to complete road repairs and remove electrical hazards near all 195 Durga Puja pandals within seven days, ahead of the 2026 festive rush. The directions were issued at a preparatory meeting chaired by BMC Mayor Sulochana Das and attended by civic officials, police, utility agencies and representatives of puja committees.
The deadline covers damaged roads, potholes, malfunctioning streetlights, low-hanging tree branches and loose or dangling electrical wires reported around festival grounds. The civic leadership said immediate ground-level intervention was required to improve conditions for commuters, devotees and processions during the celebrations.
BMC has also imposed a freeze on fresh road excavations in the city ahead of the festival. Agencies including GAIL, WATCO and TP Central Odisha Distribution Limited have been directed to focus only on completing repairs on roads that have already been dug up. TPCODL has separately been instructed to secure loose and hanging wires near the puja sites.
The civic body said agencies and individuals found obstructing public spaces by dumping construction debris or building materials along roadsides would face penalties. The order seeks to keep access routes clear during a period when footfall and traffic are expected to rise around major pandals.
The Commissionerate Police has classified all 195 pandals into A, B and C categories based on crowd sensitivity and expected footfall. Deputy Commissioner of Police Saravana Vivek M said the classification would support security planning across the city. Authorities have also identified 36 designated parking zones to manage traffic near high-density festival locations.
The arrangements extend to idol immersion operations. Five temporary ponds have been constructed along the Kuakhai and Daya rivers for the final Visarjan. Approach roads to the immersion sites are being widened, while high-mast lighting, JCB machines and heavy-duty cranes are being positioned to support the process.
The preparatory meeting also reiterated rules for puja committees, including directions to maintain cultural decorum and a ban on obscene dance performances during celebrations and immersion processions. The seven-day repair deadline and the excavation freeze are the immediate measures announced by the civic administration before the city’s Durga Puja activities begin.
