Bhubaneswar, 11 July (H.S.): The Odisha Police on Saturday conducted a high-level review meeting to finalise security, traffic management and crowd control arrangements for the world-famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, scheduled to be held on July 16.

The meeting, chaired by Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur Khurania, was held at the Town Hall in Puri and attended by senior police and administrative officials.

Addressing the meeting, the DGP said the police administration is fully prepared to ensure that the annual chariot festival is conducted in a safe, orderly and incident-free manner. He noted that lakhs of devotees are expected to converge on Puri during the festival and emphasised that providing security, efficient crowd management and quality public service would remain the top priorities.

To facilitate the movement of pilgrims, the administration has developed eight new parking facilities at different locations across the city. Comprehensive security and traffic arrangements have also been put in place to ensure smooth darshan and uninterrupted conduct of the Rath Yatra.

The DGP said experienced police officers have been deployed for festival duty, with special emphasis on ensuring the safe pulling of the chariots and preventing any untoward incidents. CCTV surveillance has been strengthened with cameras installed from Uttara Square to Puri, along the Puri-Konark Road, and at major intersections across the city to support real-time traffic regulation and crowd monitoring.

He also instructed police personnel to adopt a patient, courteous and service-oriented approach while interacting with devotees.

Director of Intelligence R.P. Koche stressed the need for effective traffic regulation, crowd control, VIP movement management and security cordons. He directed all officers engaged in Rath Yatra duty to maintain constant coordination and communication to ensure seamless security operations.

Additional Director General of Police (Modernisation) Soumendra Priyadarshi advised police personnel to discharge their responsibilities with dedication, professionalism and empathy towards devotees. He instructed officers not to leave their designated duty points under any circumstances and to remain vigilant even in adverse weather conditions. He also highlighted the importance of ensuring that every pilgrim leaves Puri with a safe and satisfying experience.

Transport Commissioner Amitabh Thakur said traffic management, crowd control, VIP movement and public safety are interlinked and called upon all departments to work in close coordination to ensure the smooth and successful conduct of the festival.

The meeting was attended by several senior police officers, including Additional DGP (SAP) Rajesh Kumar, IGP (Crime Branch) Dr. Sarthak Sarangi, IGP (Operations) Dr. Deepak Kumar, IGP (Training) Anup Kumar Sahu, IG (North-Central Range) Satyabrata Bhoi, DIG (Provisioning) Charan Singh Meena, DIG (STF) K. Vishal Singh, DIG (Eastern Range) Pinak Mishra, DIG (Crime Branch) B. Gangadhar, and other senior officials.

Puri SP Prateek Singh welcomed the dignitaries at the beginning of the meeting, while IGP (Central Range) Dr. Satyajit Naik delivered the vote of thanks.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda