Pune police will deploy 7,200 personnel, artificial intelligence-based cameras and dedicated traffic arrangements during the city’s Ganeshotsav, which is scheduled to begin on Monday. The security plan is intended to manage large crowds, prevent possible disruptive activities and maintain order across central Pune and other major festival locations.
According to information provided by senior police officials and reported by Loksatta, the arrangements have been planned under the guidance of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Darade and Additional Commissioners Rajesh Bansode, Manoj Patil, Sanjay Patil and Tejaswi Satpute. Police have also planned separate deployments for traffic management during the festival.
AI-enabled cameras will be used to monitor crowds, with the system intended to assist police in managing congestion at busy locations. Twenty observation towers have been erected at key junctions in central Pune. Police assistance centres will also be started at crowded locations to support visitors and respond to incidents during the celebrations.
Security arrangements will cover major Ganesh mandals, crowded areas, markets, metro station areas in central Pune and locations around Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited bus stations. The deployment places the festival within a wider urban mobility operation, as pedestrian movement, public transport use and vehicular traffic are expected to converge around the central city areas.
Crime Branch teams will patrol crowded areas to prevent offences, including thefts occurring in dense gatherings. Special teams have been assigned to address mobile phone theft, jewellery theft and harassment of women. Senior police officials said strict action would be taken against people involved in unlawful activities.
The planned deployment includes four additional commissioners of police, 14 deputy commissioners of police, 30 assistant commissioners of police, 215 police inspectors, 700 police sub-inspectors and 7,200 police personnel. The Home Guards will contribute 1,100 personnel, while Rapid Action Force and State Reserve Police Force units will also be deployed.
The arrangements reflect the scale of the operational challenge posed by Pune’s festival season, when religious processions, public gatherings, markets and transport interchanges place simultaneous demands on policing and traffic management. Police have not indicated in the report how long the camera monitoring or the additional deployments will continue beyond the festival period. The security plan will be implemented from the start of Ganeshotsav on Monday.
