Ahmedabad Police has deployed 14,000 police personnel and Home Guard members for Navratri 2026, with AI-based cameras, drones, counting machines and nearly 4,000 surveillance cameras planned across the city as authorities prepare for large public gatherings from October 11.
The security arrangement covers 84 organised garba venues whose approval process is under way, as well as approximately 1,300 traditional street garba events across Ahmedabad. Police said the deployment is intended to maintain law and order, manage crowds and provide a secure environment for participants.
Around 500 senior officers, including sector-level joint commissioners of police, deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners, police inspectors and police sub-inspectors, will monitor arrangements across the city. AI-enabled cameras, drones and people-counting machines have been made mandatory at garba grounds to support crowd monitoring and improve security.
Women’s safety is a specific component of the plan. Forty-nine SHE Team vehicles, 49 teams of the Prevention of Crime Branch and around 60 other vehicles will carry out continuous patrolling. The SHE Teams will include approximately 300 officers and personnel. A separate Cyber Rakshak team will monitor social media, and police have warned that people who photograph women or circulate their images to harass them will face legal action.
Residents can contact the 181 or 112 helplines in an emergency. Police are also coordinating with organisers and venue managers on traffic arrangements and checks against drugs and other unlawful activity. Special Operations Group teams will use drug-testing kits, while city police will conduct checks with breath analysers.
Traffic management measures include the deployment of 20 cranes. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, the Roads and Buildings department and the National Highways Authority of India have completed road improvement work linked to the festival, according to the report. Roads that had been closed, including stretches of the Sardar Patel Ring Road, have been reopened.
The scale of the plan reflects the operational challenge posed by simultaneous organised and neighbourhood-level celebrations across the city. Police surveillance, venue-level crowd counting, emergency response, traffic enforcement and coordination with event organisers will operate together during the festival period. The security and traffic arrangements will be in place as Ahmedabad begins Navratri celebrations on October 11.
