Mumbai Police Deploy Over 40,000 Forces for Ganpati Bappa's Farewell

As Mumbai is gearing up for Ganesh Visarjan on Thursday (September 12), Mumbai police are all prepared to make it a peaceful event. More than 40,000 police personnel have been deployed across Mumbai to ensure that the Ganesh idol immersion processions pass off smoothly on Thursday.

According to news agency, ANI, there are 5,630 public Ganpati all over Mumbai and more than 32,000 household Ganpati idols. There are 129 places earmarked in Mumbai for immersion of the idols, including Girgaum Chowpatty, Shivaji Park, and at Juhu, Aksa, Versova and Marve beaches of the Arabian Sea. Fifty-six roads have been declared as one way.

"Over 40,000 security forces will be deployed which include Special Forces and reserved forces of Mumbai police. Civil defence and home guards will also be deployed," Pranay Ashok, Mumbai Police PRO said during a press briefing.

Mr. Ashok also said that key routes of processions will be monitored by drones. Over 5,000 CCTV will keep a close watch on the people participating in the processions, he added. "In three points we are using drones to regulate and monitor the situation; the points are - Juhu Chowpatty, Girgaum Chowpatty and Powai lake," Mr Ashok said.

"Policemen in civic clothes will be part of processions to prevent any untoward incident involving women and children. Processions will be continuously monitored by more than 5000 CCTV cameras," an official was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India.

With lakhs of people expected to participate in key processions like that of 'Lalbaug cha Raja', officials have taken appropriate security measures for crowd management. Mumbai Police shared a detailed list on twitter, highlighting routes for vehicular traffic and Ganpati Visarjan.

Various wings of police including the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Riot Control, Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad, Quick Response Teams will be deployed in the city, PTI reported.