The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has given officials seven days to repair damaged roads and remove electrical hazards near 195 Durga Puja pandals as the city prepares for the 2026 festival. The directive covers pothole-ridden roads, malfunctioning streetlights, low-hanging tree branches and loose or dangling wires around festival locations.
The orders were issued at a preparatory meeting chaired by BMC Mayor Sulochana Das. Civic officials, police representatives, utility agencies and members of Durga Puja committees attended the meeting to coordinate arrangements for crowd movement, public safety, cleanliness and traffic management across the capital city.
The civic body has also imposed an immediate freeze on fresh road excavations ahead of the festive rush. Agencies including GAIL, WATCO and TP Central Odisha Distribution Limited have been directed to restrict their work to completing repairs on roads that have already been dug up. The instruction is intended to prevent additional disruption on routes used by commuters, devotees and processions.
TPCODL has separately been told to repair loose and hanging electrical wires near the puja grounds. The civic administration has also warned that agencies or individuals who obstruct public spaces by dumping construction debris or building materials along roadsides will face penalties.
Traffic and crowd management arrangements will be based on the expected sensitivity and footfall at each location. Deputy Commissioner of Police Saravana Vivek M said all 195 pandals have been classified into A, B and C groups. The categorisation will guide the security and crowd-management response during the celebrations.
The city has identified 36 designated parking zones to manage traffic near major pandals. The parking arrangements are part of a broader security and mobility plan for streets expected to experience higher pedestrian and vehicle movement during the festival.
Authorities have also prepared for the final visarjan, or idol immersion, by constructing five temporary ponds along the Kuakhai and Daya rivers. Approach roads to the immersion sites are being widened, while high-mast lighting, JCB machines and heavy-duty cranes are being stationed at the locations for the operations.
The arrangements place several city agencies within one short implementation window. BMC is responsible for civic repairs and public-space enforcement, utility agencies must complete pending road restoration and electrical work, and the Commissionerate Police is overseeing security, crowd classification and traffic arrangements. The coordination is being carried out across roads, power infrastructure, parking areas and immersion sites rather than at the individual pandal level alone.
Festival committees have also been reminded to maintain cultural decorum. Authorities have prohibited obscene dance performances during celebrations and immersion processions. The seven-day repair deadline and the restrictions on new digging will now be the immediate milestones for civic and utility agencies before the festivities begin.
