Sand-friendly all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) are being tested for deployment as police patrol vehicles during the Mahakumbh next year. Also called quad bikes and capable of moving swiftly even in rocky terrains, two such vehicles are currently guarding the main ghats of the ongoing Magh Mela area and the tent city that are, together, spread over 750 hectares.
On Mauni Amavasya, deputy commissioner of police (DCP)-city Deepak Bhukar himself patrolled Sangam on an ATV. DCP (Trans-Ganga) Abhishek Bharti, meanwhile, went around 5 kms in the wetland area on an ATV.
Bhukar said the quad bikes could move on sands without slipping. While the district police have deployed two such bikes for Sangam patrolling, it may buy more given their feasibility before the grand event early next year.
Bharti said he himself used an ATV to reach immediately at the scene of an incident in the Mela area.