Ranchi’s Chhath safety arrangements will include more than 2,000 police personnel, drones, barricades, rescue teams and additional patrols at ghats across the city, following directions issued by Deputy Commissioner Manjunath Bhajantri and SP (City) Paras Rana on Wednesday.
The district administration has ordered barricades at ghats where the water depth exceeds three feet. Officials have also been asked to identify and mark dangerous stretches and install warning signs before devotees arrive. The measures are intended to reduce risks at water bodies where crowd movement, limited visibility and uneven access conditions can complicate emergency response.
The administration will deploy NDRF and SDRF teams, divers and other rescue personnel at vulnerable ghats. During an inspection of Hatma, Kanke Dam, Madhukam, Hatnia, Bada Talab, Jail Talab, Chadri, Argora, Dhurwa, Button Talab, Banas Talab and Power House Talab, Bhajantri directed officials to complete safety and crowd-management arrangements well in advance.
“Devotees’ safety is our priority. All necessary arrangements, including barricading deep-water areas, deployment of rescue teams and effective crowd management, must be ensured well in advance,” Bhajantri said.
The district authorities have also instructed officials to repair approach roads leading to the ghats and ensure lighting, sanitation and safe electrical arrangements. These directions place access and basic civic services alongside emergency response in the festival preparations, which involve multiple agencies operating at the same locations.
Police security will cover both the ghats and nearby areas during the festival period. Rana said more than 2,000 personnel, including a high number of women officers, would be deployed across the ghats. Major locations will be monitored with drones, particularly during night and early morning hours, when devotees are expected to visit the water bodies.
Women personnel in plainclothes and quick response teams will also be deployed to prevent crime against women at the ghats. Police stations have been directed to prepare lists of people previously accused of theft and increase mobile patrolling to deter burglaries during festive travel.
The arrangements therefore combine physical controls at the water’s edge with surveillance, policing and emergency teams. The administration’s current instructions cover the inspection and marking of hazardous stretches, access infrastructure, public facilities, electrical safety, crowd control and security patrols at the identified ghats.
