Foolproof security in place for safe festival

This Ganeshotsav will be safe, promises the Mumbai police as they have put up tight security measures across the city.

At least 18,000 policemen, 1,000 recruits, four platoons of the State Reserve Police Force, three platoons of the Riot Control Police, 2,500 Home Guards and 500 Civil Defence Jawan will man the city on all 10 days of the festival.

Men in uniform will also be posted at important Ganpati mandals, which will also be covered by closed-circuit television cameras. The surveillance which will be monitored by the committee members, but there is no centralised system to keep a tab on different places through the cameras. The police will only check the footages captured on cameras.

“We have taken all possible measures to maintain peace in the city and the force will be on the roads to manage the public. We are in touch with all the   to keep a tab on suspicious people,” said deputy commissioner of police Nisar Tamboli, who is also the spokesperson for the Mumbai police.

All mandals have been instructed to deploy volunteers to manage the crowd.  

Meanwhile, not taking any chances, the state government has sought 20 companies of the Central Paramilitary Forces to ensure better control of law and order in the  state during the Ganesh festival.

State home minister RR Patil said, “The deployment of additional paramilitary forces will help reduce the burden on the local police,  as tight security is required during the festivities all over the state.”

The demand was made by the state during the recent meeting of top inter-state police officials in New Delhi, Patil said.

Patil also appreciated the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's decision to stay away from the proposed Bharat Bandh on September 20, as many devotees immerse their Ganesh idols on the second day of the 10-day festival, and urged the BJP to follow the alliance partners by not joining the protest.