This festive season, civic body to fast-track all online, offline requests for pandal permits

Thane: The Thane municipal will fast-track approvals of all online or offline applications received seeking permission for erecting pandals (temporary structures) for Dahi Handi and Ganesh Chaturthi festivals in the city, said officials.The announcement was made by additional municipal commissioner Prashant Rode following a review with representatives of mandals. Rode instructed all assistant commissioners to promptly process all applications for permission for festive pandals. There have been 51 applications for Dahi Handi pandals and 157 for Ganesh Chaturthi pandals to date, and the process of granting permissions has begun, he said."Applications for permissions from organisations should be processed immediately at the ward committee level after obtaining necessary approvals and no-objection certificates from the relevant departments, including the public works department, police, traffic police, and the fire brigade. All assistant commissioners and ward-level officers should review the daily status to ensure there is no backlog or delay in granting permissions," Rode said.In addition, civic officials discussed various issues related to the Ganpati festival, including improving the condition of roads during the joint meeting with representatives of mandals at the municipal headquarters at Panchpakhadi."We want to ensure the festivals are celebrated in an eco-friendly manner. Mandals are urged to actively support us in this effort. The public works department is responsible for ensuring that all major and internal roads are free of potholes. Additionally, the garden department will be responsible for the timely pruning of tree branches along the routes of Ganesh idol arrivals and immersions. No negligence will be tolerated," clarified Rode.An official present at the meeting said that information about immersion ghats and allied arrangements was provided at the meeting and mandals were advised to obtain all necessary permissions in time. Pandal permissions should be displayed prominently at the mandals and ensure that there is no obstruction to safe traffic passage.