BHUBANESWAR: As the state capital braces for a grander Dussehra celebration, security measures have been beefed up with focus on 14 major pandals of the city. Commissionerate Police has also mobilised more numbers of lady police personnel to ensure women visitors do not face any inconvenience. There are at least 22 pandals which have chandi medhas. Armed police personnel have been deployed at each of these pandals.
“Special deployment has been made at 14 major puja pandals - Nayapalli, Saheed Nagar, Rasulgarh, Jharpada, Old Station Bazar, Baramunda, Cuttack Road, Ravi Talkies, Ruchika Market, Lingaraj, Ganga Nagar, Chandrasekharpur, Infocity and Nandankanan,” said additional commissioner of police (addl CP) Umashankar Dash. Dedicated police teams in plain clothes will be deployed for safety and security of the women in Nayapalli, Saheed Nagar, Rasulgarh, Jharpada, Old Station Bazar, Bomikhal and Baramunda, he said.
Additional lady police personnel have been provided to Nayapalli, Saheed Nagar, Jharpada, Rasulgarh and Palasuni puja pandals to ensure women devotees do not face any inconvenience during Ashtami rituals on Friday morning. A total of 187 pandals have come up in the city and 48 of them witness maximum footfall during the five-day long festival from Sashthi to Dasami. To maintain order, 13 mobile parties have been pressed into service. All the areas having pandals have been divided in three sectors.
Three police teams have been constituted with an ACP rank officer each. They will carry out patrolling in three sectors - Palasuni to CRP Square, Rasulgarh to Kalpana and Vani Vihar to Rajmahal. Cops have been directed to remain stationed at major mandaps till late night pandal hopping is over. Three striking forces have been deployed, and control rooms set up at the major puja pandals.
A joint inspection team led by an additional DCPranked officer and consisting of representatives from departments like general administration, TPCODL, forest, R&B, PHEO, BMC and fire as well as IICs and ACPs will visit the pandals and address the issues, if any, of the organisers, said Dash. Police have made traffic arrangements to maintain smooth flow of vehicular movement. Security arrangements have also been made at 12 places where Ravan Podi utsav will be held in the city.