Puri: Heavy security arrangements are being put into place for Puri Rath Yatra, Odisha DGP Arun Kumar Sarangi Tuesday said.
About 180 platoons of police forces, five companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF), three Tactical teams, eight platoons of Swift Action Force, three units of bomb detection and disposal squad and several anti-sabotage units will be deployed for the Puri Car festival, Sarangi said.
Sarangi informed this at the final review meeting of the Rath Yatra, held here Tuesday and chaired by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. He said adequate security arrangements were being put into place for the festival.
Four Additional DGPs, eight IGs and DIGs, and 19 superintendent-rank police officers will be deployed for the festival and for the security of the President Droupadi Murmu who is expected to visit Puri to witness Rath Yatra, the DGP said.
He further said the entire Grand Road, popularly known as the Badadanda, the venue of the car festival, has been divided into six sectors for security purposes. The Rath inner cordon management has been streamlined and 61 CCTV cameras have been installed at various places to monitor the crowd movement.
Two integrated control rooms, one for security and the other for traffic, will be made operational during the fete. Drone cameras will be used to get live information on situations at various places along the Badadanda, he added.
Sarangi said This apart several contingency plans have been chalked out to meet emergencies. The Coast guard vessels will patrol the Puri coastline during the annual sojourn. The Puri town will be placed under a well-designed security blanket. Barricades will be erected inside the temple to facilitate the President of India to have darshan of the deities, he added.
A VVIP platform is being developed close to the Simhadwar to facilitate the President of India and other VVIP guests such as the Governor and judges, to witness Pahandi and to pull the chariots on the day.
UNI