Ahmedabad, July 14 (). Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi on Tuesday took stock of the ongoing preparations for the 149th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Ahmedabad. He inspected the entire 16.2 km long Rath Yatra route and reviewed the security arrangements with senior police and municipal corporation officials. This annual Rath Yatra will be taken out on the day of Ashadhi Beej.
Sanghvi was accompanied by Director General of Police (DGP) GS Malik, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot and other senior officials.
During the inspection, he reviewed the deployment of security forces, law and order preparedness, sensitive places on the yatra route and preparedness to deal with any emergency. Speaking to reporters, Sanghvi said that the Rath Yatra will be taken out on its traditional 16.2 kilometer route. It will include three main chariots, 18 elephants, 103 trucks, 30 akharas and many bhajan troupes.
“The entire route has been divided into 26 ranges, 53 operational areas and 1397 security points. More than 30,000 police personnel have been deployed for the event. These include 10 Inspector General (IG) and Deputy Inspector General (DIG), 42 Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and 88 Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP),” he said.
As part of the security arrangements, 15 companies of State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and 9 companies of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) have also been deployed.
Sanghvi said that this time modern technology will be used to further strengthen the security. He said, “This year, smart policing and modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), monitoring system and 3D mapping have been used so that the security system remains completely strong.”
Under the security plan, more than 100 drones have been installed for aerial surveillance, GPS tracking, CCTV cameras, decibel meters for elephant monitoring, body-worn cameras, modern wireless communication systems, AI voice bots, anti-drone guns and AI-based face recognition cameras, which will help in identifying suspected and wanted criminals.
Sanghvi said that the police has also paid special attention to maintaining social harmony before the Rath Yatra.
“In the last one month, the police held meetings with people from all communities and organized several social programs to create an atmosphere of brotherhood,” he said. He also congratulated the police and the people of the city for their cooperation.
The Deputy Chief Minister appealed to the devotees to have darshan without any hassle and for safety reasons not to climb the unsafe buildings located along the Yatra route.
During the inspection program, Sanghvi also gave prizes to the winning children of the painting competition organized at the local level and encouraged them. The annual Rath Yatra, one of the biggest religious pilgrimages of Ahmedabad, will begin from Jagannath Temple on July 16. The administration expects a large number of devotees to come on the traditional route during this period.
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