Ahmedabad, July 14 (IANS) The preparations for the 149th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath entered their final stage on Tuesday as Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi carried out an inspection of the entire 16.2-kilometre procession route in Ahmedabad and reviewed security arrangements with senior police and civic officials ahead of the annual religious procession on Ashadhi Beej.

Sanghavi was accompanied by Director General of Police (DGP) G.S. Malik, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut and other senior officers.

During the inspection, he reviewed security deployment, law and order preparedness, sensitive locations along the route and contingency plans for emergency services.

Addressing reporters after the inspection, Sanghavi said the Rath Yatra would follow its traditional 16.2-kilometre route and would include three main chariots, 18 elephants, 103 trucks, 30 akhadas and several bhajan mandalis.

“The entire route had been divided into 26 ranges, 53 operational areas and 1,397 security points. More than 30,000 police personnel, including 10 Inspector Generals and Deputy Inspector Generals, 42 Deputy Commissioners of Police and 88 Assistant Commissioners of Police, have been deployed for the event,” he said.

The security arrangements also include 15 companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) and nine companies of Central Armed Police Forces.

Sanghavi said the police would use a range of modern technologies to strengthen security during the procession. “This year, smart policing and modern technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, monitoring systems and 3D mapping have been deployed to make the security arrangements foolproof,” he said.

The security plan includes live aerial surveillance through more than 100 drones, GPS tracking, CCTV cameras and decibel meters for monitoring the elephants participating in the procession, body-worn cameras, a high-tech wireless communication system, AI voice bots, anti-drone guns and AI-based facial recognition cameras to identify suspects and wanted criminals.

Sanghavi said the police had also focused on community outreach in the run-up to the procession.

“Over the past month, the police have held meetings with members of all communities and organised various social activities to create an atmosphere of brotherhood,” he said, congratulating the police force and residents for their cooperation.

Appealing to devotees, the Deputy Chief Minister urged people to have darshan without pushing or jostling and advised them not to climb unsafe buildings along the procession route as part of the safety measures.

During the inspection programme, Sanghavi also presented prizes to children who won a locally organised drawing competition and encouraged them.

The inspection was attended by Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot, Member of Parliament Dinesh Makwana, MLA Kaushik Jain, city BJP president Prerak Shah, Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel, Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani, senior officials of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, senior police officers and representatives of security agencies.

The annual Rath Yatra, one of Ahmedabad’s largest religious processions, will start on July 16 from the Jagannath Temple, with authorities expecting large crowds along the traditional route.

–IANS

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