PURI (ODISHA): With only three days left for Lord Jagannath’s annual Rath Yatra, a review meeting on security, traffic and law and order for the festival was on Thursday held here under the chairmanship of director general of police (DGP) K.B. Singh. The security arrangements for the annual festival, scheduled to begin on June 25, have been divided into five categories.
Four Inspector General (IG) rank police officials have been engaged to ensure smooth conduct of the festival. While IG Sanjiv Panda will be in-charge of the traffic management, IG Asit Panigrahi will control congestion. Two police personnel, ADG Satyajit Mohanty and IG Diptesh Kumar Pattanayak, will be in-charge of the chariot cordons. IG Soumendra Priyadarshi will be engaged to look after the Jagannath temple whereas ADG Binayananda Jha will look after overall security during the Rath Yatra.
A total of 127 platoons of police force and two companies each of RAF, Special Operation Group (SOG) and Orissa Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) will be deployed in the pilgrim town. Besides, 28 SPs, 68 DSPs, 136 inspectors, 643 SIs, 468 constables, 113 traffic constables, 1580 Home Guards will also be engaged. In another development, the axle of Goddess Subhadra’s chariot ‘Darpadalana’ broke raising apprehensions on smooth ride of the festival this year. Soon after the Maharana servitors noticed the fault, district collector, Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), and technical experts rushed to the spot and inspected the broken part. The Maharanas or wood sculptors were pressed into service for the construction of a new axle within two days.
