180 Platoon Force & Coast Guard Choppers For Puri Rath Yatra, Special Measures For President Droupadi Murmu: DGP

Bhubaneswar: Elaborate arrangements are being made for the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and siblings in Odisha’s pilgrim town of Puri, Director General of Police (DHP) Arun Sarangi said.

Special arrangements for security, traffic, crowd control and law and order have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the mega festival on July 7 and 8, he told reporters.

A total of 180 platoons of police force would be deployed in the pilgrim town for the smooth and timely conduct of Rath Yatra, which is likely to witness a footfall of over 10 lakh of devotees from different parts of the country and abroad, the DGP said.

To ensure coastal security during the annual festival in the seaside pilgrim town, the Indian Coast Guard has been requested to deploy its force and helicopters for effective surveillance, he said.

As part of the security measures, four Additional Director General of Police, 6 Inspectors General, 14 DIGs, 130 Inspectors will be deployed for supervision.

This apart, 90 executive magistrates will also be deployed during the Ratha Yatra.

Added emphasis this year will be on crowd and traffic management, chariot pulling, and providing security to VVIPs.

Special security arrangements have been made for the visit of President Droupadi Murmu to witness the grand festival. She is slated to arrive at Puri by helicopter and then proceed to Raj Bhavan. Thereafter, the President will proceed to participate in Rath Yatra celebrations and special measures have been made for her car cade, the police chief said.

The pilgrim town of Puri will be put under a thick security blanket in view of VVIP visits during Rath Yatra.

Apart from bomb disposal squads, sniffer dogs and sharpshooters would be deployed to deal with any situation. Arrangements have also been made for drone surveillance.

Besides, three platoons of the State Armed Force (SAF) have been assigned, and a request has been made to the central government for 5 companies of the Rapid Action Force.