Bhubaneswar: Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania on Tuesday reviewed security and crowd management arrangements for the annual Rath Yatra in Puri and directed all security agencies to ensure seamless coordination for the smooth and incident-free conduct of the festival scheduled on July 16.
Chairing a high-level coordination meeting at the State Police Headquarters in Cuttack, the DGP held detailed discussions with senior officers of the Odisha Police and representatives of central security agencies, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Force (BSF), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Indian Coast Guard.
According to an official release, the meeting finalised a comprehensive security blueprint featuring a three-tier security system, surveillance across land, sea and air routes, crowd control measures, traffic management and emergency response mechanisms.
The meeting also reviewed the deployment strategy for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), National Security Guard (NSG) teams and NSG Quick Response Teams (QRTs) during the festival.
To counter possible terror threats, joint sea patrolling will be undertaken by the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and Odisha Police Marine Police. QRTs will be deployed on vessels, while drone and anti-drone systems will be used to prevent aerial threats. Anti-sabotage checks will be conducted at key locations and suspicious activities will be closely monitored, the release said.
The DGP directed that advanced anti-drone systems, bomb disposal squads and sniffer dog teams remain on high alert throughout the festival.
The meeting also discussed deployment of escort vehicles near the Jagannath Temple, K-9 squads, NSG-trained Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel and Special Task Force (STF) teams, besides arrangements for barricading, orderly pulling of the chariots, crowd regulation and coordination with the district administration to prevent stampede-like situations and address emergencies promptly.
Passenger safety and crime prevention during the festival were identified as key priorities. Khurania directed police to intensify action against habitual offenders involved in pickpocketing, theft and robbery, particularly at railway stations and aboard trains. Photographs of identified criminals will be displayed at prominent locations and shared with the RPF to facilitate surveillance.
He also ordered special crime-control drives across all police station limits in Puri, including verification and checks at hotels, lodges, maths, temples, bus stands, railway stations, labour accommodations and dharmashalas.
The DGP instructed senior officers to strengthen security arrangements at every level and ensure close coordination among all agencies to prevent any lapses during the annual chariot festival.
Among those present at the meeting were ADGP (Crime Branch) Vinaytosh Mishra, Director of Intelligence R.P. Koche, ADGP (Modernisation) Soumendra Kumar Priyadarshi, ADGP (Railways and Coastal Security) Arun Bothra, ADGP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar, ADGP (SAP) Rajesh Kumar, IG (CRPF) Amitendra Nath Sinha, IG (Operations) Deepak Kumar and IG (RPF) Alok Vohra. IG (Central Range) Satyajit Nayak and Puri SP Prateek Singh joined the meeting virtually, the release added.
