Team Herald
PANJIM: Goa Police has heightened security cover across all immersion sites to ensure peaceful and safe immersion of Lord Ganesh idols as the festival enters its second day on Tuesday. The respective district administrations have also roped-in the service of Drishti lifeguards at major immersion sites.
Senior police officers informed Herald that additional forces have been deployed at the identified immersion sites besides the entire State has been put on alert in view of the annual festival of the Hindus. Lifeguards and the coastal police would be assisting the police.
“Many families immerse idols of Lord Ganesh on the second day due to which the rush at the immersion sites will be heavy. To ensure peaceful and safe event, the police personnel and lifeguards are deployed at these sites,” the officer said.
“Since the State has been receiving continuous rains and with the water levels rising, we have also created awareness among the people not to venture deep in the water to immerse the idols,” the official added.
Although there is no intelligence input of possible terror strikes, the police department has maintained strict vigil across the State. The department has also asked the Ganesh mandal organizers to follow strict security guidelines such as installation of CCTV cameras with minimum 15 days storage capacity, deployment of private security personnel and volunteers to control and channelise the crowd, proper illumination at the venue, and other related preventive measures. The patrolling teams and police will be present at the Ganesh pandals.
The Goa Police has identified 76 Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals in North Goa and 142 in the South while 24 from North and 27 Ganesh mandals in South are identified as major places which have been provided with additional security.
