Bonfires would help people beat the chilly conditions at public places in the city from today. The East Singhbhum district administration has released funds to the three local civic bodies- Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC), Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC) and Jugsalai municipality for purchasing fire-woods to light bonfires at places where a fair amount of people gather after dusk with immediate effect.
The decision assumes significance with minimum temperatures touching the 10 degree Celsius marks in the city for the last few days.
“The local civic bodies had identified the public places and given us the list where they plan to light bonfires and after receiving funds from the state disaster management fund we distributed it to the local urban bodies today,” said an official.
Bonfire would be lit this evening at 16 locations in JNAC command area namely Kagalnagar roundabout, auto-rickshaw stand near Sonari Airport, Shitla Mandir at Uliyan (Kadma), Ganesh Puja Maidan (Kadma), near Bank of Baroda (Bistupur), Diagonal Road auto-rickshaw stand (Bistupur), Durga Puja Maidan roundabout (Burmamines), Food Plaza (Golmuri), Baridih auto-rickshaw stand, Bhuiyandih overbridge (Hume Pipe), Sitaramdera bus terminus, MGM Hospital roundabout, Sakchi roundabout, Sakchi private bus stand (near Sakchi post office), Kalimati Road roundabout (Sakchi).
Similarly, Jugsalai municipality has selected localities near Tatanagar Station roundabout, Jugsalai railway crossing, Kunwar Singh roundabout, Municipality roundabout, Bata square, Naya Bazar, Chowk Bazar Dharamshala and near Marwari Dharamshala.
Bonfire would be lit in the MNAC area near Pardih square, Mango roundabout and Dimna square.
“We are ready to provide firewood at any other location if it is brought to our notice that people gather there after dusk. The aim is to identify such locations where people, especially the poor, gather to spend the night,” said a JNAC official, adding that around six quintal wood would be used for bonfires daily.
The wood would be arranged and lit by civic body staff after 6.30 pm. The firewood would be ferried to the different locations in JNAC vans. “Wood is usually procured from retailers and scrap dealers,” said an official of JNAC.
Meanwhile, the district administration is also planning to write to the state welfare department for distribution of blankets amongst homeless poor in the city. “We plan to write to the social welfare department for granting funds to purchase blankets for the poor. If plans materialize it would be the first such instance when blankets would be distributed by the administration in the city,” the official said.
