Tiruchi police have stepped up vigil at the city’s main commercial centre around the Rockfort to check incidents of crime and maintain law and order during the festival season.
Six watch towers have been erected on N. S. C. Bose Road; Singarathope; near Kareem Stores and Sandhu Kadai, Big Bazaar Street; Main Guard Gate and Teppakulam from where police personnel would maintain vigil using binoculars.
As many as 127 closed circuit television cameras have been installed in the commercial centres and a team of police officials will maintain surveillance from two monitoring centres. Surveillance cameras installed at the entrances of commercial establishments, facing the streets, will also be linked to the police control room during the festival season.
Public address systems and surveillance cameras have been installed at Central and Chathiram bus stands to maintain a vigil round-the-clock.
Commissioner of Police G. Karthikeyan declared open a temporary police outpost on N. S. C. Bose Road on Friday. Members of the public can alert the police at the outpost about any untoward incident or suspicious persons.
Teams of law and order and crime wings under the respective Deputy Commissioners of Police would be deployed to prevent crime and maintain law and order. Separate teams of traffic police would be on duty in Fort and Gandhi Market police station limits to regulate traffic. In all, 624 police personnel and 160 home guards would be on bandobust duty during the festival season, Mr. Karthikeyan said.
Vehicle check posts will function at Nandhi Koil Street junction; Chinnakadai Veedhi-Babu Road junction; Big Bazaar Street-Khiledhar Street junction; and Singarathope-West Boulevard Road junction. About 100 police personnel from the crime wing would be deployed in plainclothes to maintain vigil. Bomb detection teams would be deployed at various places to carry out regular checks, he said.
‘Wear face mask’
Mr. Karthikeyan appealed to the public to maintain person distance while visiting the shopping centres and also wear face masks. Face masks were being supplied, with the support of sponsors, to those found not wearing them. Violators were also being booked, he added.
