Elaborate security in Odisha’s Twin City this Dussehra

Ayaskant Das Published On : Oct 17, 2015 at 2:52 PM Updated On : Oct 17, 2015 at 2:55 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, Oct 17:

To ensure peaceful Dussehra celebrations, Commissionerate police have made elaborate security arrangements in the Odisha capital and Millennium City for smooth passage of the annual fest.

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As many as 90 platoons of armed police, six Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), counter squads and special operations group (SOG) jawans would be deployed for the five-day long Dussehra celebrations, police sources said.

In a press conference held in the capital city today, Twin City police commissioner RP Sharma said: “Apart from heavy police deployment, as many as 13 close circuit television (CCTV) cameras would be installed along the immersion route to keep a strict watch on the anti-social elements.”

Notably, the Union Home Ministry has directed all state governments, including Odisha, to deploy additional security forces in crowded and sensitive places, including markets, religious places, railway stations and bus terminals, which could be targets of militants, during this festive season in view of intelligence inputs of five militants sneaking into India.

On the other hand, around five temporary water bodies have been created for idol immersion in these two cities as part of the drive to minimise water pollution due to immersion of idols post celebrations.

“We are giving greater emphasis on traffic management. For this, special arrangements have been made for an incident-free festival,” Sharma added.

It may be recalled that the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) has imposed restrictions/guidelines on immersion of idols in rivers, ponds and lakes to curb pollution of water bodies ahead of the festive season earlier last month.

The OSPCB had written to all district collectors directing them to seriously enforce the restrictions/guidelines imposed earlier in this regard.

The Board had directed collectors to ensure that places of immersion are not polluted and are cleaned immediately after immersion of idols.

It may be recalled that the state government had issued an order on July 22, 2010 to all district collectors, all puja committees and the OSPCB pertaining to immersion of idols.