Nagpur: NMC commissioner Vipin Itankar has announced that NMC’s fire department will conduct surprise fire audits at all Ganesh mandals of the city to ensure that all guidelines are adhered to. He was speaking at a coordination meeting between NMC, Nagpur police and the city’s ganpati mandals and NGOs at Suresh Bhat auditorium on Saturday.Itankar said civic teams would carry out surprise fire safety inspections at Ganesh mandals throughout the 10-day festival, even after they obtain the mandatory clearances. “Plastic props are being used at several mandals, and these are very susceptible to fire,” said Itankar. Appealing to citizens to use public transport during the festival, Itankar said the civic administration was also exploring an e-bus feeder service from Metro stations to major Ganesh mandals to reduce congestion and the parking menace.Commissioner of police Vishwas Nangre-Patil urged organisers not to turn Ganeshotsav into a competition over high-powered DJ and sound systems. Responding to demands from several mandals to allow DJs to operate without interruption until 10 pm, CP cautioned against extremely loud audio-visual systems, particularly those involving high-repetition beats and lasers. He said such music could intensify the effects of drugs among people under the influence and potentially trigger violent behaviour.“Radical audio-visual experiences can enhance the effect of a drug high. The volume from some of these ‘walls of speakers’ is over 120 decibels, which is extremely dangerous,” said Nangre-Patil. Referring to his previous postings in Mumbai and Pune, Nangre-Patil said he had raided three rave parties and had observed the impact of such music on people under the influence of drugs.He said the consumption of MD drugs remained a major concern in Nagpur and warned that the substance could lower inhibitions and fear, increasing the possibility of violent behaviour.Itankar later added that garbage collection vehicles will make two rounds daily near mandals, while 15-20 special vehicles will collect ‘nirmalya’. The civic body is exploring converting the collected nirmalya into manure and incense sticks. “For immersion, four lakes will be designated for idols taller than 15 feet, with mandals divided among them. GPS-based monitoring of immersion vehicles will also be introduced to streamline traffic movement.”The administration is also in talks with an institute in Mumbai to explore recycling POP idols into furniture. For idol installation permissions, the administration has launched a centralised online single-window portal through which applications will be routed to the concerned police stations.
