The temple city of Nashik will turn into a fortress ahead of the first shahi snan on August 29, as lakhs of people are expected to descend here during the Kumbh Mela.
Nearly 15,000 police personnel, 10 squads of special forces and anti-terrorism squads and one dozen bomb disposal squads will be deployed for security, Nashik Police Commissioner S. Jaganathan told The Hindu .
The Nashik police and district administration are expecting about 70 lakh people for the first holy bathing day at the Kumbh Mela on Saturday.
“We have put up 350 CCTV’s and are setting up 1,700-1,800 horns for the public address system across all the seven main ghat routes,” he said. “We are also conducting surprise checks,” he said.
The police department is also working on a ‘hold and release’ strategy at the ghats to ensure that there is no untoward incident or stampede at the ghats, as the area is quite narrow. Emergency exits are also being set up at the ghats, he said.
Private vehicles entering Nashik from the seven entry points into the city will be stopped about seven to 10 km away and shuttle services will be provided to the pilgrims from these points.
Pilgrims entering the city on Saturday from the Railway Station might have to walk to the nearest ghat or take a longer walk to reach Ram Kund, the main ghat for the snan.
The police department is also roping in volunteers with different language and functional capabilities to help pilgrims from various parts of the country, Mr. Jaganathan said.
