A total of 180 platoons of police personnel and over 1,000 officers would be deployed in and around Puri for the Rath Yatra, said DGP Sunil Bansal, who attended a meeting here on Monday to review the security measure for the festival.
The police personnel would be sensitised to ensure that ‘darshan’ of the deities is hassle-free for the devotees, Bansal said. .
The DGP said, “Owing to the prevailing pandemic situation and the direction of the Supreme Court, for two years, the festival was observed without participation of devotees. This year, since the Covid-19 situation is not so alarming, we expect lakhs of devotees will participate in the festival,” he added.
“To ensure their safety dedicated and sincere officers have been entrusted with the responsibility. I would like to request devotees to follow the traffic rules while coming to the holy city. We have also designated an adequate number of parking spaces for them,” he added.
“All the police officers have been sensitised to provide safety and service to devotees,’ he said, adding they hope the festival will pass off peacefully,” the DGP said.
Bansal said that as the Jagannath Temple in Puri is classified as a Category-A temple, anti-sabotage and metal detector checks were being carried out near the temple and the chariots.
Notably, the annual nine-day sojourn of Lord Jagannath and His siblings would commence on July 1.