Chandigarh, Nov 13 (IANS) Punjab Special Director General of Police (Law and Order), Arpit Shukla, said on Thursday here that in order to ensure safe and smooth conduct of commemorations of the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the state police have implemented a comprehensive, multi-layered security and facilitation plan by deploying advanced surveillance.

The commemorative events, to be held in Anandpur Sahib from November 23 to 25, is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from across the world.

Special DGP Shukla, along with Special DGP (Security) Sudhanshu S Srivastava and other senior officers, took stock of the security and traffic arrangements on the ground.

The Special DGP said that a police force of nearly 10,000 personnel will be deployed under the supervision of an Additional Director General of Police (ADGP)-rank nodal officer, while seven Inspector Generals of Police and Deputy-rank officers, 22 Commandants, 45 Superintendents of Police, and 94 Deputy Superintendents of Police will be deployed to ensure a peaceful event.

The entire police force has been sensitised regarding the scale and importance of the event to ensure a high level of alertness and devotion to duty.

He highlighted that the security arrangements are heavily reliant on cutting-edge technology.

A high-tech control room is being established, integrated with more than 300 AI-enabled CCTV cameras equipped with facial recognition, and 25 automatic number plate recognition cameras at all entry and exit points of the city.

Seven drone teams will provide continuous aerial surveillance.

“To create deterrence and pre-empt any untoward incident, data pertaining to snatchers in and around Ropar district has also been integrated with the facial recognition system. Mounted police patrolling and smart barricades will also be utilised for effective law and order maintenance,” Special DGP Shukla said.

For traffic management and minimal inconvenience to the devotees, the district police has tied up with IIT Ropar to scientifically map parking spaces with 30 parking lots, spanning 101 acres, are being created with real-time monitoring.

Besides, 24×7 shuttle services will ferry devotees to all venues and three tent cities with a total capacity of 10,000 people are being established.

A dedicated pedestrian road along the highway and 60 outer divergence points and checkpoints will be established to regulate vehicle flow.

–IANS

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