Elaborate security schemes in pilgrim town of Puri and state capital Bhubaneswar have been established by the Odisha Police in advance of the New Year festivities. Having around 3.5 to 4 lakh followers that are likely to flock the Jagannath Temple at Puri on the New Year Day, the authorities have intensified the efforts of securing safety, free flow of the crowd, and emergency readiness.
One of the top-ranking police officers has indicated that it has been decided to deploy a large number of police to cope up with the increase of visitors. Approximately 60 platoons of police workforce is mobilised in Puri alone. A specialised command structure that is under control is the security arrangements and includes 10 other superintendents of police, 33 subalternate superintendents of police, 62 inspectors, and 245 sub-inspectors. Every platoon comprises 30 men, the main duties of which are crowd control and law and order.
Puri Superintendent of Police Prateek Singh indicated that the figure of visitors has been on a continuous rise since December 25. The movement of the devotees has been controlled by laying adequate barricading around the Jagannath Temple. He said that security has also been enhanced in the sea beach and other tourist sites.
The representatives of the police said that there will be a wide-scale CCTV coverage throughout the city between December 29 and January 1, and control rooms will be used to track real-time events. There will also be the deployment of lifeguards as well as teams of the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and the Special Task Force (STF) to deal with situations of emergencies.
To facilitate the movement of the traffic, the administration has imposed rigid traffic routes, parking zones, and a structured crowd management system to implement traffic diversion by use of barricades and public address systems. Other precautionary measures of the same kind have been instituted in Bhubaneswar particularly in sensitive sections of the populace as well as tourists.
In the meantime, the local government and the Puri Municipality has gone a step further and ensured that not only is there cleanliness but that there is also continuous supply of water throughout the festive season.
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