Mumbai Police gears up for Ganesh Chaturthi; tightens security across city

As Moharram is also coinciding with Ganeshotsav, the Mumbai Police has accordingly made security arrangements and would deploy heavy security bandobast at communally sensitive pockets, the police said.

The Mumbai Police has beefed up security to keep a hawk-eyed vigil in the city during the 10- day Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which began on Saturday amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The police force is on high alert with more than 5,000 CCTV cameras to ensure that no untoward incidents take place during the Ganeshotsav.

The government has already requested sarwajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals to keep the ganesh idols height four feet and domestic Ganesha to be under two feet.(PTI)

As Moharram is also coinciding with Ganeshotsav, the Mumbai Police has accordingly made security arrangements and would deploy heavy security bandobast at communally sensitive pockets, the police said.

Here’s a list of restrictive rules in place across Mumbai for Ganesh Chaturthi:

•The police have roped in additional manpower from State Reserve Police Force, Rapid Action Force, Force One, Rapid Action Teams along with reserved police, according to a statement released by the police.

•Assistance will be sought from homeguards and NGO social activists. 500 policemen will be deployed dedicated for Ganeshotsav across the city and 30 policemen at Lalbaug, the hub of Ganeshotsav in the city. 1,000 additional policemen will be deployed for Ganpati immersion, the police said.

•The Mumbai Police intelligence cells in co-ordination with the Anti-Terrorism Squad will keep close watch on suspicious activities, an officer said.

•The government has already requested sarwajanik Ganeshotsav Mandals to keep the ganesh idols height four feet and domestic Ganesha to be under two feet. Also, 167 artificial immersion sites have been set up to avoid congestion at the Chowpaties. The police have appealed to the citizens not to crowd on the roads and to observe social distancing.

•Quick response teams, bomb disposal squads and anti- terrorism cells have been put on alert to prevent any untoward incident, police said.

The police have urged citizens not to gather on roads during the festivities and pandals have been asked to cut down noise pollution, police said. Apart from the instructions to follow social distancing norms, people have also been asked to wear masks and sanitise pandals as a precautionary measure, police said.

(with inputs from PTI)