Odisha Police focusing on crowd management, deploying special force for Rath Yatra in Puri

The Odisha Police have finalised a special SOP to prevent a repeat of last year's Rath Yatra stampede, focusing on crowd management and security arrangements.

The Odisha Police are focusing on crowd management, traffic regulation and deployment of a specialised force during the annual Rath Yatra in Puri to prevent a repeat of last year's stampede in which three devotees were killed, officials said on Friday.

DGP Y B Khurania held a high-level meeting at the state police headquarters in Cuttack on Thursday to finalise a special standard operating procedure (SOP) for the nine-day festival beginning July 16, they said.

''All aspects - beginning from crowd management, vehicle parking, smooth movement of devotees, health facilities in the wake of the hot and humid weather conditions, to security arrangements - are part of the SOP, which would be strictly followed,'' said a senior official who is in charge of the Rath Yatra festival this year.

During the discussion, the DGP stressed proper deployment of security vehicles near the temple, engagement of K-9 (canine squad) squad, NSG-trained Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel, and Special Tactical Units (STUs) to avoid stampede-like situations, he said.

In a bid to ensure smooth rolling of chariots, the issuance of cordon passes will be regulated to manage the surging crowd, he said.

''Last year, there was a delay in pulling chariots as a huge crowd had entered the inner cordon. This time, the Puri district administration and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) have been requested to regulate the issuance of cordon passes,'' the official said.

The DGP said special arrangements will be made for the orderly darshan of devotees, who come from across the country and abroad to witness the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath.

''Dealing with emergencies, accident management and ensuring quick coordination between various departments were discussed during the meeting,'' he said.

As per the tradition of the temple, various rituals will be observed on specific dates. The 'Snan Purnima' (Lord's birth day) will be held on June 29, 'Navayuvan Darshan' (eye-opening) on July 14, and the Rath Yatra on July 16.

Several other rituals will also be performed after the pulling of chariots, such as 'Hera Panchami' on July 20, 'Sandhya Darshan' on July 23, 'Bahuda Yatra' on July 24, 'Suna Besha' on July 25 and 'Niladri Bije' on July 27.

''Since lakhs of devotees from all over the country and abroad are likely to assemble in Puri on all these occasions, it was decided in the meeting to make the security arrangements more extensive and effective,'' Khurania said.

He said eight more parking spots have been identified to strengthen traffic management.

A special team will be deployed in front of the chariots to ensure the smooth movement of the vehicles of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra on Grand Road on the Rath Yatra day.