Port Blair, Aug 7: Shri Vishal Jolly National Executive Member BJP & Former State President BJP-ANI has requested to relax conditions for providing temporary offline connections without insisting to submit land records to all Ganesh Puja Committees throughout these Islands for organizing Ganesh Chaturthi through his letter addressed to Secretary (Power) & Deputy Commissioner (South Andaman).

In his letter, Jolly wrote that it is an admitted fact that for decades together, the Ganesh Chaturthi has been celebrated throughout the Islands by maintaining social harmony with the best cultural fervor. It is also a matter of fact & of record that most of the Puja Pandals are erected over Government Revenue land or in Forest land, temporarily for the purpose of organizing and conducting the Puja.

He mentioned that he has been informed that from this year, the Electricity Department is insisting upon them to obtain the temporary connections through online mode and that too by submitting the copy of the land records (ownership/tenancy). By introduction of this new rule, 95% of the Puja Committees/Organizers will not be able to organize or conduct Ganesh Chaturthi this year, which is extremely painful.

Considering the facts & circumstances, he requested to look into this issue positively by relaxing the previously mentioned conditions and provide temporary offline connections to all Ganesh Puja Organizers without requiring them to submit the land ownership/tenancy records.