CHENNAI: Chennai Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal on Saturday warned strict action against those violating the timings fixed for bursting crackers during Deepavali festival.
The Commissioner, who reviewed security arrangements in place for festive shopping in the arterial T Nagar area, particularly in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, claimed there was "good awareness" among the members of the public on government rules regarding bursting firing crackers during Deepavali.
"Nevertheless, the police will take stringent action as per law if there are any violations," he told reporters here.
The Tamil Nadu government had for the second year in a row in 2019 fixed time slots for bursting crackers during Deepavali, in line with the Supreme Court order.
As per the state government's directions, residents could burst crackers between 6 and 7 AM and again from 7 to 8 PM.
The festival falls on November 14 this year.
Mahesh Kumar who directed the police to ensure a crime-free Deepavali shopping and accident-free celebrations, informed that 100 CCTV cameras have additionally been installed in shopping areas in Mambalam and Pondy Bazaar in T Nagar, to effectively monitor the movement of the crowd and take appropriate action in case of any suspicious movement.
About 500 police personnel would additionally be deployed to manage the crowd during weekends and 10 beat constables equipped with smart jackets with body cameras, would be deployed for round-the-clock patrolling in 15 sectors.
Police watchtowers at vantage points, apart, mini- control rooms and police assistance booths have been established.
Similar security arrangements would be in place for the shopping areas in other parts of the city.
The police have deployed drones and installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras with face-recognition software.