The Commissionerate Police have made elaborate security arrangements in the capital city for the Diwali celebration on Thursday.
According to Bhubaneswar DCP Satyabrata Bhoi, special teams of the Odisha Armed Police Force (OSAP) have been deployed at all sensitive and busy localities in the city to keep an eye on the miscreants, illegal cracker traders, drunken driving and violators of traffic rules.
To keep a tab on miscreants, policemen have been asked to keep a strict vigil near jewellery shops.
The DCP said barricades have been erected at important junctions which will be manned by a police officer of Sub-Inspector rank, two constables and an armed guard. Apart from this, to ensure smooth traffic, 25 picketing teams have been deployed along the main roads to keep a watch on reckless driving in the city.
Apart from this, special squad and Quick Action Team (QAT) personnel will be on the lookout for an inter-State gang of thieves which has been active in the city over the last one month.
The entire security arrangement in the city will be supervised by four senior officers of the rank of Additional DCP.
On the illegal sale and hoarding of Chinese crackers, Bhoi said a joint team of police and Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has been formed to raid firecracker shops and seize cracker packets not displaying chemical composition and those exceeding the permitted sound limit of 122 decibels.