The Kolkata Police are bracing for a challenging Durga Puja season this year, as the festivities coincide with the ongoing protests by doctors over the rape-and-murder of a junior colleague at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.
With 2,905 Puja events, 248 of them major, being organised in the city, the police have a tough task at hand ensuring the safety of both devotees and the protesters.
To minimise the potential chaos, the police have announced traffic diversion plans for key thoroughfares, including those at CR Avenue, JL Nehru Road, College Street, and SC Mullick Road. These diversions will be implemented depending on the volume of traffic and the intensity of the protests, an official said.
Also, the traffic police have imposed parking restrictions at Strand Bank Road between Sovabazar Street and DC Banerjee Road, as well parts of Bidhan Sarani and SC Mullick Road.
These measures are aimed at easing congestion and facilitating the movement of vehicles during the festive period. Nearly 10,000 police personnel, including 4300 from the traffic wing, have been deployed in the city starting Monday, with 36 deputy commissioner of police-rank officers monitoring the situation on the ground, it is learnt. Besides, a total of 58 watch towers have been built around big puja events while drones will be pressed into service for aerial surveillance. Teams of the Disaster Management Group (DMG) and River Traffic Police will be deployed at each ferry ghat to monitor the waterways.
Also, 116 quick response teams will be deployed.
Police pickets have been installed at 200 points and 30 ambulances will be parked around large puja pavilions. To ensure the safety of women, female police officers will be deployed at nearly all crucial points, and vehicles will be searched. Intelligence and special branch personnel have been instructed to remain alert, and officers in plainclothes will be deployed in markets and other crowded areas.
Moreover, special office-time traffic arrangements have been put in place from October 7 to 9. Important crossing points like Muktaram Babu Street-CR Avenue, Rashbehari, Behala 14 number, Sovabazar, Sealdah station-Santosh Mitra Square-College Street zone and New Alipore-Chetla zone have been identified.
The police have put up barricades on both sides of Amherst Street and BB Ganguly Street in central Kolkata for effective crowd control. During the launch of a guide map for the puja revellers, Commissioner of Police Manoj Verma had said, “All preparations are in place. We hope there will be no issue during the Durga Pujas.”
On the occasion of the Mahalaya festival on October 2, the city witnessed a large-scale protest by doctors and civil society members.
Additionally, 5,200 temporary home guards will be deployed on the roads from Chaturthi. The authorities are urging the public to adhere to traffic regulations and security guidelines for the festive period.
Meanwhile, the Bidhannagar Police have launched a dashboard and an app for Durga Puja Parikrama. On these, people can have access to live updates on crowds and an approximate waiting time to complete darshans. Also, they can also locate parking spots, file a complaint on missing person or a mobile.
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