Inter-agency meet discusses Rath Yatra security

Bhubaneswar: A special coordination meeting of central and state security forces was held June 5 under the chairmanship of Director General of Police, RP Sharma, at his camp office here to discuss issues related to security preparedness and crowd-control during the forthcoming world famous car festival at Puri.
All the stakeholders at the meeting assured their cooperation for the smooth passage of the festival to be held in July.
Several top officials from Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), National Security Guard (NSG), Railway Protection Force( RPF), Coast Guard, Airports Authority of India, Indian Navy and Intelligence Bureau sleuths besides state police attended the meeting.
The annual festival attracts a huge number of visitors from across the country and outside. The central agencies agreed to provide adequate number of forces to help the Odisha police personnel in maintaining peace and security during the festival. The NSG agreed to station a special team at the festival.
The Coast Guard assured the Odisha police of adequate sea patrolling off the Puri coast during the 9-day-long festival. The RPF will install sufficient number of CCTV cameras at the railway station at Puri and beef up security at Bhubaneswar and Puri railway stations as well as on the trains to Puri.
In a significant move, the Airports Authority of India was requested to take steps to declare Puri and the periphery areas as ‘No-fly Zone’ during the festival. The National Disaster Response Force will deploy sufficient number of personnel to deal with any emergency at the festival with ODRAF providing back-up.
The DGP later told media persons that the meeting discussed the roles of the various agencies for the smooth conduct of the festival.
The Railways & Coastal Security ADGP, Pranabindu Acharya, said adequate measures would be taken to tackle the expected huge rush of pilgrims during the festival and particular emphasis will be laid on avoiding stampede-like situation.
At the time of departure, arrangements would be made to keep people at different locations to avoid over-crowding of the station. Also, timings of the trains will be prominently displayed for the public so that they get information well in advance.
“Other security aspects are also there. Frisking will be intensified at various platforms. Baggage scanners have been installed. Police dog squad will be deployed at the platforms,” he added.
Six platoons of OSAP and three platoons of APR will be deployed as done in the past.