Bhubaneswar: With Durga Puja 2025 celebrations in full swing, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) is actively enforcing a series of guidelines aimed at ensuring public safety, maintaining cleanliness, and promoting eco-friendly practices across the city.
According to the BMC, the use of single-use plastic is strictly prohibited. Devotees and organisers are encouraged to use biodegradable alternatives such as paper bags, leaf bowls, clay utensils, and bamboo containers for carrying offerings (prasad) and other items.
Puja committees have been instructed to maintain cleanliness around pandals, place adequate dustbins nearby, and ensure proper waste segregation. Wet and dry waste must be handed over only to BMC sanitation personnel, while used flowers should be deposited in dedicated flower waste collection vehicles.
To ensure public safety, the BMC has mandated that temporary pandals be constructed securely to withstand crowd pressure. Organisers must also adhere to all electrical safety norms and seek guidance from the concerned departments to prevent any incidents of short circuits.
Cleanliness must be maintained during and after prasad distribution. To reduce traffic congestion, separate parking arrangements should be made near pandals. Each pandal must deploy sufficient security personnel for crowd control and general safety.
Strict compliance with fire safety rules and preventive measures, as prescribed by the relevant departments, is compulsory. The immersion of idols will be permitted only in temporary ponds specially prepared by the BMC.
The civic body has urged all puja organisers and devotees to cooperate in ensuring a safe, eco-friendly, and orderly celebration this festive season.
