PURI: A high-level meeting to ensure smooth conduct of the Trinity’s annual Rath Yatra on July 16, was held here on Thursday.
Presided over by RDC (central range) Sudhansu Mohan Samal, the meeting discussed construction of the three chariots, supply of drinking water, electricity, health and sanitation, communication and transport, security, law and order, regulation of vehicular traffic and deployment of central forces during the car festival.
Apart from the 185 ‘drink from taps’ installed along the Badadanda, 26 mobile water tankers will be pressed into service during the festival. Besides, 1,600 temporary toilets will be set up at various places of the town.
Around 220 platoons of police force will be deployed along with several units of the NSG, RAF, ODRAF and NDRF. Anti-drone gadgets will be installed to stop flying of drones and 200 CCTV cameras will keep surveillance on Badadanda, the venue of the festival. An integrated control room manned by experts will operate round-the-clock to monitor and control the crowd movement.
It was further decided that all open drains in Puri will be covered. Health and electricity officials were directed to streamline their preparedness.
ECoR officials informed that 400 special trains will ply during the nine-day festival while half a dozen of ticket booking counters will be opened outside the Puri railway station.
Among others, Puri MP Sambit Patra, MLA Sunil Mohanty, central range IG Satyajit Naik, district collector Dibyajyoti Parida, and senior temple servitors attended the meeting.