Required volume of police personnel and other security staff to keep guard at the Ardh Kumbh fair slated to begin in January 2016 has been estimated and the same has been sent to State Government, it is learnt. Police said they would take no chances in view of the expected large congregation of pilgrims and possible attempts by terrorists to disrupt the mela. It may be mentioned that Mela Adhikari SA Murugaisan, IAS has issued the mela notification on March 3. After the notification is issued, Ardh Kumbh Mela ground is now being considered as a separate district.
DIG Ardh Kumbh GS Martolia in an exclusive talk with The Pioneer said that the strength of the pilgrims will be less as compared to 2010 Kumbh Mela. However, keeping view the series of incidents — Roorkee blast and Saharanpur and Muzzaffarnagar riots — we are taking no chances, he said. Police sources said they are well-prepared to take on any contingency. “We are not ruling out the possibility of terrorists targeting the pilgrims,” he said. DIG Martolia added that they have already sent the demand of police force required for the smooth completion of the Mela to the State Government.
About 3,200 constables of police, 583 women constables, 350 traffic police, an anti-sabotage team, two companies of flood protection unit and 65 personnel of mounted police will be required. Besides, 400 fireman, 25 personnel from water sports, 50 Jal police and 60 companies of PAC and CPMF will also be the part of Ardh Kumbh Mela force.
In all, over 10,000 police personnel will be required to ensure glitch-free mela. A small unit of Intelligence and bomb disposal squad will also assist the Mela police during the Ardh Kumbh Mela 2016. Ardh Kumbh which would be held in five phases would begin in January 2016 and continue till 21May the same year, Martolia said.
He further said preparations would be completed by August. In the next three months, training will be provided to all the field staffs to make sure they are not found wanting in cases of emergency. SP Traffic Mela Shweta Choubey said that whole mela area is divided into 32 sectors. There will be two to three thanas in some of the sectors.
“At present, we have a limited staff provided by Haridwar district police and we have started our basic routine works with them. The verification of the residents is now going on in full swing. We have already asked SSP Haridwar and lIU to share their reports with us to ensure fool-proof verification,” Choubey said. She further said that demand of several equipments for major construction and those required for fire squad, bomb disposal squad and surveillance aside from computers and firearms has also been sent to higher State Government officials. DIG Martolia said that duty points will be same as were in the previous Kumbh and Ardh Kumbh Mela.
As per the data lying with Uttarakhand Space Research Centre (USRC) Dehradun, over 30 lakh pilgrims had attended 2004 Ardh Kumbh Mela. 2010 Kumbh Mela drew over 1.6 crore pilgrims. Over one crore pilgrims are expected to attend Ardh Kumbh Mela 2016 in Haridwar. It may also be mentioned here that during Kumbh Mela of 2010, police-line for mela force was set up in Bhalla Intermediate College and its stadium and some camps at Tibdi area. This time, the police-line will be set up in Bairagi Camp. “Encroachment will not be allowed under any circumstance across the Mela ground,” affirmed Martolia.