Odisha police to beef up security in view of Lord Jagannath's

The Odisha Police on Tuesday decided to beef up security arrangements in Puri during the annual car festival of Lord Jagannath, scheduled to be held on July 4, in order to ensure peaceful conduct of the mega event.

Keeping the threat perception in view, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF personnel will be deployed, the DGP of Odisha, R P Sharma, said after the first preparatory meeting.

"To counter any situation, we are going to activate the counter intelligence system. Besides, additional steps are being taken to strengthen coastal security by working in coordination with marine police and Indian Coast Guard," Sharma told reporters.

For security reasons, there will be a ban on low- flying objects such as helicopters and drone cameras, over the grand road and the temple premises, on the day of Rath Yatra, Sharma said.

"We will urge the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy two companies of Rapid Action Force (RAF). Deployment of RAF will be in addition to the specialised forces of Odisha," the DGP said, adding, a bomb disposal squad with metal detectors will also be present during the mega event.

He said a coordination meeting will also be held with BSF, CRPF and Coast Guard soon.

During the Rath Jatra, different rituals will be observed on different dates as per the tradition of Sri Jaganath temple.

While 'Nabajauban Darshan' (first darshan of the Lord after a break of 15 days) will be held on July 2, the Ratha Jatra, the main festival will be organized on July 4. The return car festival, called 'Bahuda Yatra' to be held on July 12 and 'Suna Besha' (golden attire) on July 13 and 'Niladri Bije' (return to temple) to be held on July 15. Lakhs of people across the country are likely to throng the holy city of Puri during the annual car festival of Lord Jagannath.