Bhubaneswar, October 18: In the wake of the stampede at the Chorebagan Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata, the Odisha police administration has stepped up security measures at Puja pandals across the State.

DGP (In-charge) Vinaytosh Mishra chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the arrangements to avert any untoward incident during the ongoing festival.

"Large pandals have been set up in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Balasore and other places, and a large number of people visit them for darshan. We have issued strict instructions that every pandal must have police deployment, along with volunteers provided by the respective puja committees. The entry and exit gates will be regulated to ensure that a very large number of people do not gather inside the pandals at any point. What happens is that if a large number of people gather and even a small incident occurs at that moment, it can cause panic and create a risk of a stampede. So, I appeal to all the devotees to maintain discipline and follow guidelines," said DGP Mishra.

Sharing details of the security arrangements, Central Range Inspector General (IG) Satyajit Naik said elaborate security arrangements have been made at Durga Puja pandals to ensure crowd management and prevent any untoward incidents.

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As crowd management would be more challenging in Cuttack, Jajpur and Kendrapara districts, police have made comprehensive arrangements to handle the situation in these districts.

“All the seven districts in the Central Range are sensitive. Durga Puja is being celebrated across Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapara, Puri, Nayagarh and Khordha districts. DGP chaired a meeting earlier to review the preparations. We also held a meeting with all the SPs in the Central Range to discuss security arrangements for Durga Puja. Preparations had begun well in advance,” said Naik.

He urged the devotees visiting puja pandals to follow traffic guidelines.

“We have also identified anti-social elements. We have kept a close watch on them. Special teams are also deployed to prevent snatching and eve-teasing as part of the security measures,” said Naik.

Commissioner of Police S. Dev Datta Singh, also appealed to the people to remain vigilant and stay alert and look out for themselves and those around them.

“Several meetings have been held to review the preparations to ensure a smooth Durga Puja in the Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Though elaborate security arrangements have been made but people should also remain vigilant,” said Singh.