Doubts over security at Pushkar Ghats

Lack of coordination among government departments worries officials

Gigantic task:Works pertaining to expansion of the Durga Ghat for the Krishna Pushkaralu under way in Vijayawada. Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

Lack of coordination among various government departments in the Krishna Pushkaram works, particularly the police department, is worrying officials.

The State government, after a series of meetings and discussions, finalised the ghats along the Krishna River bund and entrusted the job of designing them to GIIC, a Chinese company. The construction is being carried out by the government departments.

However, police officials said they were not aware of the design, security arrangements, crowd management, fire fighting equipment and other facilities being provided at the bathing ghats.

Police said the district administration had not furnished details of the consultants, contractors, builders and the labourers, which is a must for security reasons.

“Some hundreds of labourers, technicians, supervisors and engineers are working at the ghats from different countries and States. The workmen were engaged hurriedly without verifying their background, and police do not have particulars of even one of them. There is no planning for the mega festival,” said a senior police officer.

Another police official said there should be compartments at all the ghats to prevent stampede, required number of entries and exits, barricades, police sub-control rooms, outposts for fire, State and Central Disaster Response Forces, helpline counters and emergency exits.

“We are in dark on the security arrangements at the pushkar ghats. Some lakhs of devotees and VIPs will attend pushkarams and the police should keep a vigil on the movement of suspects and ensure safety during the 12-day festival. Police wrote a letter to the district administration seeking information about the consultants, contractors and the labourers engaged by them for work,” the officer said.

Recently, the district administration issued orders appointing officers for 23 Pushkar Nagars for providing arrangements for the devotees in and around the city.

The in-charge officers were instructed to inspect the ghats and ensure that parking, accommodation, drinking water, medical, electricity, public addressing system, fire safety and transportation facilities were provided at the Nagars.

Interestingly, there was no mention of police outposts or beats and security arrangements in the order. Police said they had no communication on the Pushkar Nagars.