Temple town Srirangam will be brought under tight security for Vaikunta Ekadasi festival at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple on January 11. A comprehensive security scheme has been drafted by the city police for the festival that attracts devotees in large numbers.
Police personnel from various districts have been drawn to augment manpower strength for deployment at different places in Srirangam for crowd management, regulation of traffic, and prevention of crime. Over 3,400 police personnel, including eight Superintendents of Police, are to be deployed this time.
Personnel from Tamil Nadu Special Police Battalion and Armed Reserve also form part of the security arrangements. Anti-sabotage teams would be positioned at vantage points at the temple. Separate teams would be entrusted with the task of regulating traffic, preventing crime, and monitoring public movements from video images generated from the surveillance cameras installed on the temple premises. The city police will involve home guards and traffic warden in the arrangements.
Police sources said skeletal deployment of police personnel in Srirangam has commenced. Full strength would be deployed in shifts on Friday and Saturday.
Ahead of the festival, Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav held a meeting with the SPs, Additional Superintendents of Police, ASPs, DSPs/Assistant Commissioners of Police at the city police office on Thursday evening. Police officers who attended the meeting were briefed on the security scheme through a power point presentation.
Cell phones prohibitedA release issued on Thursday appealed to pilgrims coming for the festival not to bring cameras and cell phones inside the temple. Cameras and cell phones may not be allowed inside the temple, the release said adding that cloak room facility is arranged at the entrance to the temple to deposit belongings.
Devotees could avail of the facility and obtain token for the deposited items.
