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Drones, CCTV cameras to keep vigil on Ranchi water bodies during Chhath
Drones and closed-circuit television cameras will keep a close watch at crowded water bodies of Ranchi on the last two days of the four-day of Chhath festival, officials said on Saturday.
Drones and closed-circuit television cameras will keep a close watch at crowded water bodies of Ranchi on the last two days of the four-day of Chhath festival, officials said on Saturday.
National Disaster Response Force personnel and rescue boats will be deployed at major water bodies in the district, including the Kanke dam, Dhurwa dam and Ranchi Lake on Sunday and Monday for the safety of devotees, said Manoj Kumar, Ranchi deputy commissioner.
The 34 major water bodies in the city have been divided into five zones with a magistrate designated for each zone. Responsibility has also been allotted to volunteers of different puja committees, he said.
“CCTV cameras will be installed in five to six major water bodies in the city, including the Ranchi Lake, Kanke dam and Dhurwa dam for better security management. This apart, drones will also be used in strategic locations for aerial surveillance,” Manoj told Hindustan Times.
The four-day festival–worship of the Sun God–began with Nahai Khai ritual on Friday and0 will conclude on Monday morning with offering Argha to the Sun God.
Chhath Puja is the biggest festival of Bihar and Jharkhand but is also celebrated with equal fervour in other states like Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and some parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
Hundreds of thousands of devotees throng different water bodies across Jharkhand to pay obeisance to the Sun God.
A 40-member team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also being deployed in different water bodies, said Ashok Kumar Sharma, district disaster management officer.
“More than 100 civil defense members will be deployed to assist NDRF personnel to manage the crowds in case of any untoward incident,” he said.
He further said fishermen, trained as profession divers, will also be stationed at the water bodies in the city.
Tight security arrangement has also been made in the other major cities of the state, including Dhanbad, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Hazaribag, where lakhs of devotees throng water bodies to perform Chhath rituals.
