Drones, 5,000 CCTVs and 40,000 cops to secure Ganeshotsav

Mumbai: The Mumbai police will keep a hawk’s eye view with drones, Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras and personnel on the ground this Ganesh festival and Muharram. The leaves of all the personnel have been cancelled for throwing watertight security and a force of over 40,000 will be deployed apart from the private security and reserve police.

Around 7,703 public and 1.63 lakh domestic idols will be installed on Ganesh Chaturthi, along with 11,667 idols of the elephant-headed God with Gauri this year.

The officials said that the immersion sites and the peripheral areas would be under the surveillance of drone and the CCTVs will be monitored real-time from the control rooms that will be set up in all the regions.

“The primal focus will be on curbing incidents of offences directed towards women and to avoid any law and order situation. We have erected several CCTV cameras to cover as much landmass as possible,” said an officer of Mumbai police.

Apart from the existing web of high-tech CCTV cameras in Mumbai, the police has put up at least 5,000 more cameras in the city to weed out black spots.

The sea fronts will also be secured with deployment of lifeguards and implementing traffic diversions in the city.

Like every year, the Lalbaug Ganesha will have a dedicated security quadroon owing to heavy footfall. The team will include at least 10 deputy commissioner of police, four assistant commissioners, 20 police inspectors, 59 assistant and sub-inspectors, 500 constables, a company of the state reserve police and the riot control police each.

The entry and walkway to the main pandal will be secured with 20 doorframe metal detectors, 50 hand held metal detectors, four combat vehicles and CCTV cameras.