Security preparations intensify for Ram Navami rallies in Kolkata and Howrah.
Times of India | 2 April 2025
123 Kolkata: With five days to go for Ram Navami, Kolkata Police and Howrah Police have receiving 66 applications for rallies including six major ones. Senior officers have begun taking stock of security and traffic concerns to ensure that rally routes do not choke traffic or pass through sensitive areas.
"We will follow the Calcutta High Court order passed last year. For this, we are augmenting the CCTV coverage on all rally routes. Deployment plans will be firmed up by Friday once we have the final count of rallies that are permitted," said a senior officer at Howrah, which witnessed some tension on Ram Navami day two years ago.
In Kolkata, police commissioner Manoj Verma visited multiple locations in Sealdah, Entally and Tangra. Though senior officers remained tight-lipped on these spot visits, sources said Verma wanted to see first-hand if CCTVs were functional in these areas. The top cop also spoke to divisional DCs to audit security requirements for next Sunday and finalise the routes.
Sources said security in Kolkata and adjoining Howrah city might see a total deployment of around 5,000 personnel. Kolkata alone is expected to witness around 60 processions. The number of applications coming in is slightly higher than last year, claimed Lalbazar sources.
Kolkata Police has also provided several dos and don'ts for organisers and asked them to follow the high court guidelines. Cops clarified that permission has been granted that each rally will not have more than 200 participants. However, there is no bar on processions merging at specific points, a common trait followed in central Kolkata in the past few years that leads to a swell in numbers. No DJ music will be allowed and the number of vehicles to be used will be restricted.
The city police stated that the four big processions will be supervised by the senior-most officers. "We have set up additional CCTV cameras on certain routes. We have also divided the timings of processions throughout the day so that there is no major pile-up at any spot," said an officer.
Confirming the same, a top cop at Lalbazar said that all gatherings which do not have requisite permission will not be allowed to proceed to sensitive spots. Police, however, said it is worried about "shows of strength" despite the security arrangements.
"Organisers tend to suddenly abandon their proposed route and take detours. This has to be stopped at any cost, if required through community intervention. For this, we are holding community-level meetings. If the spirit of the festival remains, half of our job will be done," said a senior officer.
The Howrah Police will be deputing drones for surveillance in certain sensitive pockets. Both cities will see cops carrying out videography of the processions. This Ram Navami became an acid test for the administration too, which put in extra officials to keep a watch on the situation across Serampore, Asansol, and Barrackpore, all of which reported trouble in the past.