Puri, Jul 6: With just nine days remaining for the world-famous Rath Yatra, the Odisha government on Monday concluded the final coordination committee meeting, finalising elaborate security and crowd management arrangements for the annual festival.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Y.B. Khurania said the police department has entered the final phase of preparations to ensure the smooth and incident-free conduct of the festival, which is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad.
The DGP said the primary focus of the police will be to ensure the safety of pilgrims, orderly darshan, effective crowd management, smooth traffic movement, and the secure conduct of the chariot-pulling ceremony.
He informed that this year's security arrangements are being supervised by S. Priyadarshi, with special emphasis on deploying technology for efficient festival management.
Authorities will give top priority to the security of the Jagannath Temple, the three chariots, the Grand Road (Bada Danda), the Puri beach, and the railway station. The entire city will remain under extensive CCTV surveillance throughout the festival to enable real-time monitoring and quick response to any emergency.
To strengthen security, nearly 12,000 police personnel will be deployed during the festival. The security setup will also include 19 senior IPS officers, traffic personnel, and 10 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), including the CRPF and BSF.
In addition, around 250 platoons of the Odisha Special Armed Police (OSAP), India Reserve Battalion (IRBN), Armed Reserve Police (ARP), and traffic forces will be stationed across Puri to manage security and maintain law and order.
The administration will also deploy nearly 3,000 Home Guards at key locations across the city. They will assist police in crowd regulation, traffic management, and parking arrangements to ensure the safe movement of devotees during the grand chariot festival.
Officials said the comprehensive security plan has been designed to ensure that devotees can participate in the Rath Yatra safely and smoothly while maintaining the sanctity and discipline of one of the world's largest religious gatherings.
