Drones, CCTV cameras to keep a hawk eye
A majority of the police force will be deployed for the 11day Ganeshotsav bandobast and leaves of all policemen have been cancelled.
The bandobast will include State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), local armed forces, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS), Quick Response Team (QRT), traffic police, local and zonal police and Home Guards.
Anti- Terrorist cells (ATC) also will be keeping a watch for any suspicious elements or any terror activities. A total of 3,600 traffic policemen and 500 wardens will be manning the roads to ensure smooth flow of traffic. Moreover, 1,000 Home Guards and 1,000 volunteers from Ganpati mandals will assist police to ensure smooth traffic.
Cadets of NSS, NCC and Disaster Management cells will also be present. Volunteers of NGOs will assist the police in handling the crowd.
Police will also use drones on the last day of visarjan to keep an eye on all movements. Mumbai has 119 immersion points and anti-terrorist vans will take rounds to keep tabs on the crowd.
Rashmi Karandikar, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) and Mumbai Police spokesperson, said, “Over 1.32 lakh Ganpatis have been registered, of which 7,610 are Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals and 1.25 lakh individual family idols will be immersed this year. We have 5,000 CCTV cameras installed at all 119 immersion points.”
Anticipating huge crowds at Lalbaugcha Raja, a special command centre has been set up to track suspicious activities and prevent any untoward incidents. “Policemen will monitor the activities at Lalbaugcha mandal. A centre for missing persons has been set up at prominent immersion points so that people can approach the help desk in case any person goes missing. Fire extinguishers have been installed at all immersion points. Mandals have also been instructed for foolproof wiring at the mandals to avoid untoward incidents.
Private cameras installed at mandals will be monitored by police. Special squads in plain clothes will be on rounds apart from blocking 53 roads during visarjan and making 54 roads one way. Also, 99 roads have been blocked for parking purposes.