Police chalks out elaborate Ganesh immersion security plan

Over 60% of Mumbai's 40,000 policemen will be deployed across the city to monitor the Ganesh idols immersion event on Saturday, the police said. A a special police control room will also be set up at Girgaon.

"Around 25,500 police personnel, including 2500 traffic police, will be deployed to ensure that there are no untoward incidents," Joint Police Commissioner (Law & Order) Sadanand Date told reporters on Monday.

Besides the Mumbai police, personnel from the Rapid Action Force, State Reserve Police Force, home guards and NGOs will also be deployed, he added.

The navy and coast guard will also provide necessary assistance at the beaches. A helicopter will be flown for aerial cover and closed circuit television cameras (CCTV) have been installed at major waterfronts and roads, the police said.

"This time, most mandals have installed CCTVs after police instructions. However, CCTVs have also been installed at various locations to capture movements. There will be about 37 watch towers at different places," he said.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Vivek Phansalkar said that 37 roads would remain closed on Saturday, while only one-way traffic will be allowed on 51 roads. "Parking on 60 of these restricted roads will not be allowed. On other 13 roads, heavy vehicles movement will be prohibited," he said.

For the first time, the traffic website will regularly update movements on various roads during the event.

"There will be also be traffic instructions on these websites. For instance, a red mark will indicate that motorists should avoid that road," he added.