Team Goemkarponn
Vasco: In the run-up to the annual Damodar Saptah festival, Mormugao Deputy Collector Bhagwant Karmali on Friday convened a review meeting with key government departments and stakeholders to assess readiness for the event. Officials from the police, traffic cell, fire services, municipality, and temple committee were present.
Speaking after the meeting, Karmali said, “Directions have been given to all departments regarding the Damodar Saptah festival. The police have informed us that deployment is planned and traffic management arrangements are in place. We have also discussed police verification of all vendors setting up stalls.”
He added that preparations for emergencies were also reviewed. “An emergency evacuation plan has been discussed, and we’ve asked the temple committee to appoint sufficient volunteers with dedicated roles for crowd control, queue management, and VVIP movement,” he said.
Karmali further said, “The Collector of South Goa had earlier held a meeting on July 18 to discuss the law and order situation. Today’s meeting was to review action taken on those instructions.”
Mormugao Municipal Council Chief Officer Siddhivinayak Naik said that the civic body is actively involved in the arrangements. “We are one of the active stakeholders and were invited for the review meeting. From our side, we are working on civic facilities and will share the responsibilities allotted to us,” said Naik.
For the first time, the Damodar Saptah festival will be covered by insurance. Sharing this development, Saptah Utsav Samiti Secretary Santosh Khorjuvekar said, “We have insured the temple premises this year considering the large number of devotees expected. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative for the festival.”
He also informed that volunteer teams have been formed and responsibilities assigned. “We have created sub-committees and briefed the Deputy Collector on the preparedness for managing access to the temple. We urge devotees to be patient and avoid visiting the temple during peak hours between 11 am and 2 pm,” said Khorjuvekar, appealing to the public to plan their darshan accordingly for a safer and smoother experience.
