With the ninth day of Ganesh immersion and Muharram coinciding on Friday, a rarity, Hyderabad police have stepped up vigil to thwart untoward incidents in the city.
Hyderabad Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said that additional forces will be deployed in old city and a few parts of East Zone for the Maatam procession which will commence from Bibi Ka Alawa at 1.15 p.m on Friday and will conclude by 7.30 p.m at Masjid-e-Illahi in Chaderghat.
The procession will pass through Malwala Palace, Charminar, Gulzar Houz, Mandi Mir Alma, Purani Haveli and Kali Khabar. Mr Kumar said that adequate bandobust and protection will be provided to Rajani, the elephant carrying the alams covered with precious jewels and diamonds. Briefing the media about the security arrangements for Ganesh immersion on Sunday, he said that over 17,000 police personnel will be deployed in the city.
According to the commissioner, the Ganesh processions and immersion process will be monitored through 2.5 lakh surveillance cameras and 450 CCTV cameras are installed on Balapur-Hussainsagar route.
Khairatabad Ganesh
“The immersion procession of the popular Khairatabad Bada Ganesh will start at 5.30 a.m and the idol will be immersed in Hussainsagar by 11.30 a.m,” Mr Kumar said, adding that last year the Bada Ganesh was immersed at 2.15 p.m.
He said that over 60 CCTV cameras will monitor the whole procession of the Khairatabad Ganesh. Taking clue from the previous experience, the city police have mapped 310 hypersensitive and 605 sensitive places and a total of 410 mobile parties are moving in the area for smooth conduct of the festival, he said.
Quick immersion
To ensure quicker immersion of Ganesh idols, the police have procured 160 new quick-release hooks. The mechanical hooks are developed by a private firm and was successfully tested a few months ago at Tank Bund.
There are over 14,000 registered Ganesh idols in the city and the same number of unregistered ones. On Sunday, several SHE teams will be pressed into service for the safety and protection of women.
“Most of them will be deployed on the roads, especially where large number of women gather to watch the massive Ganesh procession,” the Hyderabad Commissioner said.
All the wine shops and bars in the city will remain closed from 6 a.m. on Sunday to 6 a.m. Monday,. The police will also not permit DJs and flying of drones.