PURI: Anticipating heavy rush on the last two days of the year and the New Year day, the district administration has made elaborate security arrangements to ensure hassle-free darshan of the deities in Shree Jagannath temple.
Puri SP Vinit Agarwal on Sunday said over 60 platoons of police force besides scores of home guards will be deployed in the pilgrim town to regulate the flow of devotees. Similarly, firemen and life guards would be deployed along the beach to prevent drowning incidents in the sea. Policemen will keep a close watch on the beach from watch towers.
Police have also issued an advisory for parking of vehicles coming to Puri. All four-wheelers from Bhubaneswar will be parked at the multi-level parking at Jail Road and Saradhabali. Vehicles from Brahmagiri will be allowed to move to the lighthouse for parking. Similarly, vehicles coming from Konark will be diverted from Bhudan square to Talabania for parking.
Two-wheelers will be allowed to park between Market square and district headquarters hospital square. No four-wheelers will be allowed towards the temple on Badadanda from Hospital square.
Barricades have been erected along the Badadanda from Municipal Market square for devotees to move in queues to Srimandir. Several e-vehicles will cater to the needs of the elderly and differently-abled devotees to reach the temple gate.
The SP said senior officers will be deployed inside the temple, Srimandir Parikrama and at the beach to monitor the movement of pilgrims and look after VVIP security. Experienced police officers will also monitor the situation from an integrated control room.
On the day, Agrawal held a meeting of the local volunteers seeking their help in dealing with the rush. He also attended a meeting of the hoteliers and asked them to furnish reports of visitors staying in their hotels using the new SARAI app.