Excitement as immersion nears; cops, docs are ready

Pune on terror hit list, reminds Pol
Pune is on the terror hit list. Keeping this in mind, the police have asked all its officers to remain alert during the festival in the city, said Pune police commissioner Gulabrao Pol on Monday. He claimed that the recently arrested terrorists have confessed to the investigators that they always wanted to strike in the main cities of the country to send their message to all over the world and Pune is one of the cities which makes security during festival an important issue. With 600 new Ganpati mandals being added to the existing number of mandals in the city after the merger of new villages with the city, the Pune police face a challenge of policing 14 lakh additional people. “We will implement Supreme Court guidelines to curb noise pollution during Ganpati immersion processions in the city. We are also urging the mandals to help the police and conclude the processions early.”

No vehicles on main roads during processions
Considering huge crowds attending immersion processions, the Pune traffic police have announced diversions for the traffic on various important roads in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad areas from September 18 till the processions end. Vehicles will be banned on some of the main roads in downtown Pune where major processions will be taken out. These roads include Lakshmi Road, Kelkar Road, Kumthekar Road, Tilak Road, Shastri Road, and Bajirao Road. In the PCMC area, roads connecting to major chowks, including Chapekar Chowk, Mahavir Chowk, Khandobacha Mala, Dange Chowk, Valvekar Wadi Junction, Linking Road, Bhoi Ali and Chinchwad Chowk will remain closed for traffic. Pimpri market and Pimpri bridge also will remain closed for traffic.

PMC appeal to keep use of Gulal to minimum
As the entire city is gearing up for the Ganesh immersion processions, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) authorities have appealed to the people to avoid excessive use of Gulal. The civic administration has also appealed citizens to use eco-friendly Gulal instead of Gulal made out of hazardous chemicals. The Ganpati immersion processions will start at 9 am on Wednesday. This is the day where maximum Gulal is used by members of Ganpati mandals. But since the substandard Gulal has hazardous chemicals, it can have adverse impact on people’s health. Therefore, the municipal administration has appealed citizens to go eco-friendly Gulal.

Docs advise against using harsh colours
The PMC health department and other health experts in the city have appealed to the citizens to take care of their skin and eyes during immersion processions. A large number of cases of skin and eye infections are caused due to use of harsh colours. “Common eye infections due to colours used are conjunctivitis (mostly viral), corneal abrasion or even corneal ulcer in extreme cases. The colours are often also mixed with sand, mica, glass, talc and starch which can cause removal of the sensitive layers of cornea if rubbed vigorously,” said eye surgeon Dr Aditya Kelkar. Dermatologist Dr Dilip Shah said the chemical colours can cause contact dermatitis, eczema or scalp irritation. Besides, high decibel sounds can lead to tinnitus (ringing sound in the ear), irreversible deafness, trauma to eardrum, said ENT surgeon Dr Avinash Wachasundar.

Squads on the vigil for eve-teasers
From frog jumps to Suryanamaskars, the anti-eve teasing squad of Pune police had given Road Romeos a tough time during last year’s Ganesh immersion. On the final day of the procession, policemen dressed in plain clothes along with sportspersons will mis in the mob to nab the eve-teasers. Additional commissioner of police (south region) Chandrashekar Daithankar said, “We have trained 10,000 students who will help police. We will not be able to punish eve-teasers, but will detain them that day. Besides we have appealed to women to not wear ornaments, to not carry bulky bags and avoid bringing children to processions.”

Emergency Numbers

Police control room: 100.
Fire brigade control: 101.
Women complaint cell: 1091.
Senior Citizen helpline- 26111103.
Crime Alert 020 26112222 For more information
log on to www.punepolice.gov.in