Pune police will deploy 10,000 personnel and use artificial intelligence-based CCTV surveillance during the city’s Ganesh Visarjan procession on 26 September, while warning organisers that violations of sound limits and the use of high-powered loudspeakers could lead to criminal cases.
Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar announced the security arrangements at a press conference on Wednesday. The procession will begin as per tradition from the area around the Lokmanya Tilak statue at Mahatma Phule Mandai. Police said security planning has been carried out under the guidance of the commissioner, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Darade and Additional Commissioners Manoj Patil, Rajesh Bansode, Tejaswi Satpute and Sanjay Patil.
The arrangements will cover key immersion routes, including Laxmi Road, Tilak Road, Kelkar Road and Kumthekar Road. Around 2,000 CCTV cameras will monitor the routes, with the cameras connected to the main control room. Observation towers will be installed at major junctions so that police can monitor crowd movement and activities during the procession.
Police assistance centres will be established at Belbag Chowk, Lokmanya Tilak Chowk near Alka cinema, Khanduji Baba Chowk, Deshbhakt Keshavrao Jedhe Chowk and the S.P. College junction. Observation towers are also planned at junctions along the procession route.
The police said personnel in plain clothes would be deployed to prevent theft and incidents of harassment in crowded areas. Home Guards and State Reserve Police Force units will also be part of the deployment. The use of AI-based CCTV surveillance is intended to give police an overview of events along the route while the procession is under way.
Noise regulation will be a central part of enforcement. Commissioner Amitesh Kumar warned that the use of high-capacity sound systems and violations of prescribed sound limits could result in criminal cases. The warning places responsibility on mandals and procession participants to comply with the conditions communicated by the police.
Joint Commissioner Sanjay Darade has separately directed participating mandals not to use intense laser beams during the procession. Police said mandals must follow the directions issued by the Supreme Court and that cases would be registered against those who fail to comply with the rules.
The measures combine a large ground deployment with fixed surveillance infrastructure, control-room monitoring and enforcement against noise and laser-light violations. The procession is scheduled to begin on Friday, 26 September, from Mahatma Phule Mandai, with police assistance centres and monitoring arrangements positioned along the main routes.
