7,000 BMC staff, cops on alert to keep you safe

MUMBAI: The police department has cancelled leave of all police personnel on Thursday, for Anant Chaturdashi immersions, which mark the end of the 11-day Ganesh

MUMBAI: The police department has cancelled leave of all police personnel on Thursday, for Anant Chaturdashi immersions, which mark the end of the 11-day Ganesh festival. Moreover, 7,000 employees of the Brihanmumbai Muncipal Corporation (BMC) will be present at 69 natural and 31 artificial immersion spots.

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The Mumbai police have appealed to people to stay alert and not believe rumours. Citizens should immediately dial 100 or alert a policeman if they spot any suspicious object or person. The Mumbai police will conduct checks at strategic locations across the city and also at entry/ exit points.

Aerial surveillance has been improvised to ensure there is no any untoward incident. “We have cancelled weekly-offs and police personnel will be on roads to ensure security,” said Deven Bharti, joint commissioner of police (law and order) told HT. “We have increased the number of drones.”

The Mumbai’s control room that monitors CCTV cameras installed across strategic locations in the city has been asked to remain vigilant. A general alert has been sounded, while security has been stepped up at immersion points in the city such as Girgaum, Juhu, Shivaji Park, Versova and Powai lake, among others. Coastal security has been beefed up with high-speed patrol boats constantly monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, the civic body has deployed more than 600 lifeguards at immersion spots. Rescue officers of the fire department and various officials of the disaster department will coordinate with more than 58 control rooms that have been set up at various immersion spots, said officials.

“The civic body has completed immersion preparations and our employees will be at various spots through the day,” said Anand Waghralkar, deputy municipal commissioner, in charge of arrangement.