Cops, CC cameras to keep watch on Mahalaxmi temple

As Navratri festival is starting from Thursday, the Mahalaxmi temple situated on Bhulabhai Desai Road, is all set to welcome its devotees. "The century-old Mahalaxmi temple sees around 10 lakh devotees during the 10-day long festival. The rush of devotees increases after the fifth day, reaching more than 50,000 per day. Hundreds of devotees stand in long queues for hours to offer flowers and sweets to the goddess," said Sharadchandra Padhye General Manager of the temple.

The Mumbai Police has prepared itself to avoid any untoward incidence at the temple. "250 policemen have been deployed at locations starting from the temple up to Haji Ali. Plus, 50 traffic policemen have been deployed to handle the heavy traffic," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dyaneshwar Chavan.

"We also have around 90 CCTV cameras installed. Of them, 60 are installed by the temple authorities itself to keep strict vigil. We have to also check all the people entering the temple premises. The temple sees high footfall reaching 50,000 devotees per day; we have to take all preventive measures to avoid any untoward incident," an officer added.

The temple will have its first puja at 5.30 am on Thursday. On Sunday, the temple will see very high footfall. The 10-day festival will be over on Dassehra.