Varanasi: Police commissioner Mohit Agarwal and district magistrate S Rajalingam inspected from Namo Ghat to Assi Ghat on Sunday and directed Varanasi Municipal Corporation and other agencies concerned to complete all preparations for Dev Deepawali and Ganga Mahotsav on schedule.
The officials assessed necessary arrangements at these locations and discussed specific arrangements required at various spots, providing necessary instructions to departmental officers concerned. The DM asked for arrangement of safe houses, mats, chair placement, parking, adequate lighting, silt removal, covered cultural stages, tents, restrooms for guests, drinking water and public route charts and emphasised that all arrangements should be completed timely.
Agarwal said that in view of the presence of VIPs and huge crowds during Ganga Mahotsav, Dev Deepawali and the inauguration of Namo Ghat, elaborate security arrangements and a crowd management plan had to be in place. Police personnel, including female officers in civilian dress, will be deployed during the Ganga Mahotsav and other cultural programmes, while anti-Romeo teams will also be active. For safety of tourists and crowd management, strong barricading is being installed at the ghats, with designated routes for movement. He added that watchtowers with public address systems, dragon lights, and wireless sets would be placed for monitoring and guiding the crowd. Security and crowd management will be monitored via CCTV cameras and drones. The CP mentioned that for proper management, the Ganga river and ghat areas would be divided into zones and sectors.
No person will be allowed on boats without a life jacket, and safety instructions will be strictly followed in boat operations. During the festival, NDRF, water police, PAC flood team, water ambulances, and divers will be present in the Ganga river, with boat movement restricted to designated routes.
For smooth traffic, the CP directed that information regarding route diversions, no-entry plans, and temporary parking would be published in advance to ensure no inconvenience to tourists. Additional CP (law and order) S Channappa, DCP Kashi Zone Gaurav Banswal, ADCP (traffic) Rajesh Pandey, and officials of VMC, PWD, UP Jal Nigam and others were also present.