Anandpur Sahib, February 26 Punjab's Special Director General of Police (Law and Order), Arpit Shukla, reviewed the security arrangements for the upcoming Hola Mohalla festival here on Thursday.
The three-day annual Sikh festival will be held at Sri Anandpur Sahib from March 2 to March 4.
Shukla chaired a coordination meeting with Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of the Rupnagar Range, Nanak Singh, and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Rupnagar, Maninder Singh.
He directed that foolproof arrangements should be made to facilitate the lakhs of devotees from across the globe who will gather to pay obeisance at the birthplace of the 'Khalsa Panth'.
The entire area has been systematically divided into 12 sectors, and a total of approximately 5,000 police personnel have been deployed to ensure the safety and security of the devotees.
Six drones have been deployed for aerial surveillance and crowd monitoring. The live feed from these drones will be monitored at the central control room.
While briefing all the sector in-charges and the police force deployed, the Special DGP directed them to adopt the utmost humble approach towards the 'sangat' and work with full dedication and determination to make the event a success.
Reviewing the security arrangements, he said that the Rupnagar police had implemented many new initiatives to ensure the peaceful and smooth conduct of Hola Mohalla, so that pilgrims would not face any kind of inconvenience.
Shukla said that a total of 21 parking areas, categorized by capacity, have been earmarked, and a color-coding scheme for parking and routes will be implemented to guide devotees.
Round-the-clock shuttle services, including 100 e-rickshaws and 50 mini-buses, will operate from the parking areas for the convenience of the pilgrims, he added.
He further said that QR-code based information systems have been installed at various locations to help pilgrims access details regarding shuttle bus services, parking points, hospital locations, and other essential facilities.
Around 200 CCTV cameras have been installed to cover city approach roads to get real-time information on traffic inflow, alongside round-the-clock live surveillance through the CCTV control room at the Anandpur Sahib police station.
He added that a three-layer barricading system is also being implemented for the first time for effective crowd management at the Charan Ganga Stadium.