VIJAYAWADA: City police commissioner AB Venkateswara Rao has said that it is mandatory to obtain permission from the police department to set up Ganesh pandals in the city.
The commissioner also informed that the organisers should get a consent from fire, municipal corporation and electricity departments and submit photo copies of their approval letters prior to seeking permission from the police. The details such as height and weight of idol, place of mandap, number of days of celebrations and vehicle that would be used for immersion should be clearly mentioned in the application form. The filled in applications should be submitted at the unified police service centre (UPSP) at the city police commissionerate, he added.
The police department has decided to allow immersion only in selected areas and directed the organising committees to arrange security at the mandap during nights. It has been made mandatory to arrange water and sand near the mandap as a safety measure in case of fire. Fire crackers, loud speakers, huge vehicles and usage of colours during the immersion procession will not be allowed, the commissioner said in a release.