Tight security in Mumbai for Ambedkar's death anniversary

Around 40,000 police personnel have been deployed for security in view of 63rd death anniversary of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar on Friday when lakhs of his followers will throng the city to pay homage to him at a memorial here.

Chaityabhoomi, the site where Ambedkar was cremated after his death on December 6, 1956, attracts lakhs of his followers from various parts of the country on his death anniversary (Mahaparinirvan Diwas) every year.

Over the years, Chaityabhoomi, located in Dadar in Central Mumbai, has become a place of pilgrimage for Dalits and Buddhists.

Police are maintaining a strict vigil as lakhs of Ambedkar's followers are expected to visit the memorial to pay tributes to the chief architect of the Constitution on Friday, an official said.

Besides the local police, personnel from the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), the Riot Control Police (RCP), Quick Response Teams (QRTs), Bomb Disposal and Detection Squads (BDDSs), Special Branch, Crime Branch, traffic police and Home Guards will be deployed at important places to maintain law and order, he said.

Around 40,000 police personnel have been deployed for security in the metropolis, the official said.

Police personnel in plainclothes will also be part of the crowd to avert any unlawful incident along with volunteers of the Samata Sainik Dal (SSD), the official said.

There will be CCTV monitoring of important locations like the Shivaji Park, Dadar and Chaityabhoomi among others, he said.

Drones will used for aerial surveillance, he said, adding the Mumbai police's marine wing will be deployed at the Dadar beach.

Police have set up watch towers at Chaityabhoomi, where the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has made arrangements like mobile toilets and facility for drinking water for followers of Ambedkar, the official said.

Traffic police personnel have been deployed to regulate vehicular movement in the area, he said.