In an effort to ensure against a repeat of the disturbances witnessed at Bhima-Koregaon last year, the Pune district administration has decided to deploy 11 drones in the eight kilometre radius of the village to maintain vigilance during the 201st anniversary of the the January 1, 1818 victory of British troops over Peshwa Bajirao II's army scheduled for January 1, 2019.
Not wanting to take any chances, the Pune district administration has drawn up an elaborate plan to main law and order at Bhima-Koregaon village where thousands will converge on Tuesday next to celebrate the 201st anniversary of the the January 1, 1818, victory of British troops over Peshwa Bajirao II's army
It may be recalled that that during the caste riots that broke out on January 1, 2018, one person was killed and property worth Rs 9.54 crore was destroyed at Bhima-Koregaon in Pune district. After the riots, there were protests and violence across the state.
What followed were the arrest of 1o human rights activists for allegedly conspiring to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and overthrow the democratically elected government in the country.
Talking to media persons on Monday, Pune District Collector Naval Kishor Ram said: “We have made elaborate security arrangements in and around Bhima-Koregaon village. Apart from deploying huge posse of police personnel, we will be keeping a continuous watch of happenings in the village during the celebrations on January 1”.
According to the Pune district collector, there was considerable apprehension among the people of Bhima-Koregaon village in the light of what happened last year. “After the disturbances last year, we have held monthly meetings with the villagers in an effort to remove their anxiety and build confidence in them. We have succeeded in removing fear from their minds. We have involved in the preparations for this year’s celebrations for which people come from different parts of the state”.
“Keeping in view the huge turnout people for the celebrations scheduled for Tuesday next, we will sending water to the village in 300 tankers, deploying 150 buses to ferry people to the village and making parking arrangements at 15 places. This year, the police deployment will 15 times more than the number of police personnel we had deployed last year,” the collector said.
The collector requested the people to keep the district message about mischievous messages put on the social media. “I also request people not lend credence to rumours,” he said.