Ahmedabad, The 147th edition of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath will be held on July 7 in Ahmedabad, where over 22,000 security personnel will guard the event that attracts thousands of devotees, an official said on Thursday.
Special care will be taken to control the crowd in view of the recent stampede in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, where more than 100 people died, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said at a press conference here after holding a meeting review with almost 600 police officers.
This time, the police will use face detection cameras to identify criminals by comparing the faces of people in the crowd with the database, he said.
The police will also deploy 20 drones and some balloon-mounted cameras to monitor people's movement, the official said.
He said companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) such as BSF and Rapid Action Force and 35 companies of State Reserve Police (SRP) will also be deployed on the 16-km yatra route and at places clue.
Each company usually has between 80 and 90 security people.
"More than 22,000 security personnel will be deployed along the Rath Yatra route and other important places on July 7. These include 12,000 regular police force personnel, 6,000 home guards, 11 companies of CAPF and 35 companies of SRP" Malik said.
Of them, 4,500 people will walk with the procession along the entire route, while 1,931 people will be deployed to manage traffic, he said.
"We will take special care to avoid any stampede. We will put up barricades where necessary to regulate the entry and exit of people. We will divide people into groups instead of allowing everyone to enter at the same time," Malik said.
Senior police officials will closely monitor the procession using 1,733 body cameras linked to a control room.
Nearly 1,400 CCTV cameras installed by traders on the route will also be used for live surveillance, the official said.
A live telecast of the Rath Yatra will be provided to the police control room, a special control room in the Circuit House, the DGP's office and the chief minister's office in Gandhinagar, he said.
An official statement said on Wednesday that 20 drones and 96 surveillance cameras will be installed at 47 locations along the route.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday reviewed the security preparedness for the mega religious event in a meeting attended by several officials, including Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and Director General of Police (DGP), Vikas Sahay.
Malik gave an elaborate presentation during the meeting on various security aspects of the Rath Yatra, the statement said.
To deal with any medical emergency, 16 ambulances and medical teams in five government hospitals will remain on alert. Besides, 17 help desks will be set up along the entire route to help citizens, he said.
As per a decades-old tradition, the procession, led by chariots, would start early around 7 am from the 400-year-old Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area and return at 8 pm after passing through different localities of the Old City. , including some communally sensitive areas.
The procession usually consists of 18 decorated elephants, 100 trucks and 30 'akhadas' (local gymnasiums).
The raths (chariots) of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and his sister Subhadra will be pulled by members of the Khalashi community as per the ancient tradition.
Thousands of people gather on both sides of the route to catch a glimpse of the deities.
Special care will be taken to control the crowd in view of the recent stampede in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, where more than 100 people died, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik said at a press conference here after holding a meeting review with almost 600 police officers.
This time, the police will use face detection cameras to identify criminals by comparing the faces of people in the crowd with the database, he said.
The police will also deploy 20 drones and some balloon-mounted cameras to monitor people's movement, the official said.
He said companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) such as BSF and Rapid Action Force and 35 companies of State Reserve Police (SRP) will also be deployed on the 16-km yatra route and at places clue.
Each company usually has between 80 and 90 security people.
"More than 22,000 security personnel will be deployed along the Rath Yatra route and other important places on July 7. These include 12,000 regular police force personnel, 6,000 home guards, 11 companies of CAPF and 35 companies of SRP" Malik said.
Of them, 4,500 people will walk with the procession along the entire route, while 1,931 people will be deployed to manage traffic, he said.
"We will take special care to avoid any stampede. We will put up barricades where necessary to regulate the entry and exit of people. We will divide people into groups instead of allowing everyone to enter at the same time," Malik said.
Senior police officials will closely monitor the procession using 1,733 body cameras linked to a control room.
Nearly 1,400 CCTV cameras installed by traders on the route will also be used for live surveillance, the official said.
A live telecast of the Rath Yatra will be provided to the police control room, a special control room in the Circuit House, the DGP's office and the chief minister's office in Gandhinagar, he said.
An official statement said on Wednesday that 20 drones and 96 surveillance cameras will be installed at 47 locations along the route.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday reviewed the security preparedness for the mega religious event in a meeting attended by several officials, including Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and Director General of Police (DGP), Vikas Sahay.
Malik gave an elaborate presentation during the meeting on various security aspects of the Rath Yatra, the statement said.
To deal with any medical emergency, 16 ambulances and medical teams in five government hospitals will remain on alert. Besides, 17 help desks will be set up along the entire route to help citizens, he said.
As per a decades-old tradition, the procession, led by chariots, would start early around 7 am from the 400-year-old Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area and return at 8 pm after passing through different localities of the Old City. , including some communally sensitive areas.
The procession usually consists of 18 decorated elephants, 100 trucks and 30 'akhadas' (local gymnasiums).
The raths (chariots) of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and his sister Subhadra will be pulled by members of the Khalashi community as per the ancient tradition.
Thousands of people gather on both sides of the route to catch a glimpse of the deities.