Mumbai: Heavy police deployment across city as Covid shadow over Eid festivities

An IPS officer said more checkpoints would be set up Monday to prevent crowding. (File/Representational)

Mumbai police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel will be deployed across the city Monday to ensure strict adherence of social distancing as people celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr.

Markets in the metropolis are usually flooded with people busy shopping for the festival, while thousands of people assemble at prominent places like the Minara Masjid in south Mumbai and Haji Ali Dargah to offer namaz. However, with the Covid-19 cases rising in the city — Mumbai recorded 1,749 new cases Saturday — police have also appealed to the Muslim community to avoid large congregations and offer namaz at home.

Mumbai police spokesperson, DCP Pranaya Ashok, said, “Apart from the staff at the police stations being deployed on the roads across the city, we have an additional staff strength of 4,000 personnel, comprising SRPF, CRPF, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and Quick Response Team (QRT), to man the roads.” The officer added that each zone has been provided drones to keep an eye on areas with dense population to ensure there is no crowd.

An IPS officer said more checkpoints would be set up Monday to prevent crowding.

The police are primarily focusing on areas that have larger Muslim population, like Mohammad Ali Road in south Mumbai, and Shivaji Nagar-Govandi areas along the eastern suburbs.

“We have been going a lot of ground work in the days leading up to Eid. We have explained to people the importance of staying indoors,” a senior police officer said.