Security services beefed up in Mangalore for season’s triple events

For the first time in the history of Dakshina Kannada, three events — all in close succession — have given rise to the need for a host of security services.

With the taluk and zilla panchayat elections, the new year celebrations and the Hindu Samajotsava just round the corner, the district police and the Mangalore police commissionerate have geared up to meet the triple challenge.

The challenge could not have been more formidable for police commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh and superintendent of police, A Subramanyeshwara Rao, but they have well-defined jurisdictions and responsibilities that make things easier.

“We are looking at the Hindu Samajotsava jointly as a large congregation of people will assemble for the event. There is an official estimate of a minimum of 50,000 people, but the organisers estimate not less than 1 lakh people to converge. We have studied the crowd behaviour in the past which has prompted us to erect piquets, surveillance systems and vehicle registration tracking systems at all the places in the district to ensure that no untoward incident takes place anywhere in the district,” said Rao.

“Apart from securing the area under Mangalore commissionerate, we have also prepared a joint-patrolling system which will be on for all the three events. We will marshal our forces in tandem with the district police force,” said Seemanth Kumar Singh.

A total of 2,200 policemen will be patrolling all over the district from December 31 to January 2. The district and Mangalore city being communally sensitive and terror attack threats combined with the reckless New Year revelling has put the police to the ultimate test of their abilities.

“There is nothing we cannot handle, we are prepared with overwhelming number of policemen, mobile squads, striking forces, KSRP, quick-response teams and additional cover of home guards will suffice,” Rao said.

“We were worried about the drunken driving accidents rampant on the eve of New Year. But this year, we have devised a new plan. We have asked the taxi association to station a few vehicles at all important areas in the city so that people need not drive drunk. This experiment worked wonders in Mumbai Police Commissionerate area. We have also asked the hotels to prominently display advisory against drunken driving. We want people to enjoy on New Year, but without threatening the lives of others and their own,”  he said.

Keeping the election in mind, the police have beefed up security in Naxal-infested areas. Since this is the grass-root level election, Naxal forces may try to disrupt it in their own ways.

“We have placed striking forces in all hyper-sensitive constituencies in all four taluks of Dakshina Kannada district, but in Naxal-affected areas, we have deployed additional forces and mobile squads. In case of an emergency, the mobile squad will reach in five minutes and a striking force will be there in 20 minutes time,” Rao said. In fact, every policeman in Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada is well-versed with the security needs of the district.

Those serving in the Mangalore commissionerate have also served in various taluks in the Dakshina Kannada district, which gives them an additional advantage, he said.