Kolkata Police has increased security and crowd-management arrangements across the city from Tritiya as the number of Durga Puja celebrations rises to 2,981 this year. Full-scale deployment will begin from the afternoon of Chaturthi, with police focusing on major pandals, road crossings, metro stations, immersion ghats and routes connecting different puja locations.
Information attributed to Lalbazar indicates that the largest number of pujas is being held in the South Suburban Division, also known as the Jadavpur division, with 685 celebrations. The South West Division, covering Behala, follows with 598. East Kolkata has 335 pujas, North Kolkata 312, South Kolkata 258, South East Kolkata 208, the East Division 193, Central Kolkata 128, the Port area 116 and the Bhangar division 148.
Police pickets are being placed near major pandals, including College Square, Mohammed Ali Park, Santosh Mitra Square and Allen Park, as well as several prominent South Kolkata venues. Officers will also manage pedestrian movement so that visitors can leave one pandal and reach another through designated routes. From 4 pm, police officers and senior personnel will take position on the roads with nearly 20,000 volunteers to assist with crowd movement, road crossings and traffic flow.
The arrangements will also cover daytime visitors. Police expect large crowds at prominent pandals during the day because many people complete pandal visits before evening and return home or to their neighbourhoods. Adequate police personnel will therefore be posted at 27 pandals during daytime hours. In addition, 10 to 15 smaller pandals in each police division will receive security coverage, with teams of four to eight personnel working under a sergeant or assistant sub-inspector at selected locations.
For wider city surveillance, police will deploy 20 heavy radio flying squads in two shifts, 10 special radio flying squads and 30 PCR mobile vans. The patrol vehicles will coordinate with traffic police and escort fire engines to accident sites in the event of incidents such as fires. Seven mobile police assistant vans will patrol the city, while traffic police assistant booths will operate at six locations. Quick Response Teams, including combat personnel, will be stationed at nine locations.
Waterfront and emergency arrangements are also part of the plan. Three Kolkata Police launches will patrol 15 ghats, with one additional launch monitoring other ghats. Police will conduct surveillance from 42 watchtowers using binoculars, and assistance centres will be placed outside major pandals. Fourteen police ambulances and 14 trauma-care ambulances will be kept ready for visitors. Ten missing-person squad vehicles will patrol for missing children and elderly people.
Metro access is another focus of the deployment, with police personnel stationed outside all 32 metro stations identified in the plan. Immersion processions are scheduled between October 21 and October 24, and the city’s arrangements will continue to cover crowd movement and security during that period.
