Panchkula: Police presence increased, borders barricaded for Chhath Puja

Police have been especially deployed near water bodies to stop people from going there

Looking at the increasing numbers of Covid-19 cases in the district, the Panchkula police have started making announcements on loud-speakers informing people to celebrate Chhath Puja at their homes and to not come out on November 20 and 21.

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On Wednesday, the Panchkula administration denied permission to celebrate Chhath Puja at public places. The deputy commissioner of police, Mohit Handa, stated that enough police force had been deployed near the rivers and other water bodies, and barricading had been done to stop people from going there.

Assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Rak Kumar said that a three-tier police force will be deployed at all borders of the district joining tricity including Baltana (Rajiv Colony side) and Zirakpur (Dera Bassi side).

Locally, wherever a large number of people are expected to congregate, police will be deployed. ACP Kumar added that violators will be challaned, but since it was a festival, the focus will be on educating them.

14 teams constituted for public assistance

On Thursday, the deputy commissioner of Panchkula held a meeting with incident commanders, health officers, and police officials from Kalka and Panchkula. Fourteen teams have been constituted under the leadership of sub-district magistrates of Panchkula and Kalka. These teams will be deputed especially on Chhath Puja to ensure no inconvenience is caused to the residents and the festival is celebrated peacefully. Around 25,000 people are expected to celebrate the festival in Panchkula.