Bhubaneswar/Puri: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday participated in the coordination meeting to review the preparations for the Rath Yatra of the sibling deities of Puri Srimandir. The Chief Minister attended the meeting through video conference.
Several other ministers, the Chief Secretary, Srimandir Chief Administrator, the Director General of Police, several servitors of the temple, and senior officials of different departments of the Odisha government also attended the Rath Yatra coordination meeting in Puri today.
Addressing the meeting, the Chief Minister said, “I welcome everyone to the Ratha Yatra Co-ordination Committee Meeting. Mahaprabhu is the best identity of Odias.”
The Chief Minister urged everyone concerned to ensure that the Rath Yatra passes peacefully, saying, “The entire world is waiting for Mahaprabhu’s Rath Yatra. It is the responsibility of everyone to conduct Mahaprabhu’s journey smoothly.”
The meeting took the following decisions today:
- Adherence to Mahaprabhu’s rituals on time.
- Special attention should be given to the safety and other facilities of devotees visiting Puri.
- Special arrangements should be made in view of the heat wave during the summer this year.
- Paying special attention to ensure that the devotees coming from across the country and abroad will return with a good feeling.
- Requisition of bomb disposal squads/ HHMDs, DMFDs, and Metal Detectors.
- Counterintelligence squads.
- VVIPs security.
- Communication arrangements and preparation of a comprehensive plan/ arrangement allotting different channels.
- Provision of cranes/ vehicles/other gadgets.
- Installation of CCTVs.
- Provision of road divider/ delineator and traffic cones.
- Strengthening beach patrolling.
- Opening of temporary police assistance posts.
- Regulation of traffic.
Earlier, a meeting was held at the state police headquarters in Cuttack to finalise the security arrangements during the chariot festival which will be attended by lakhs of devotees from across the globe.
