City Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal said elaborate security arrangements, including the deployment of 18,000 personnel, have been implemented to deal with the rush in commercial areas and other places during the Deepavali season. The measures will be in place till the night of November 4.
The city police enforced these measures in T. Nagar, Pondy Bazaar, Purasawalkam, Mylapore, Flower Bazaar, Washermenpet, Koyambedu, Tambaram and Chromepet.
Addressing reporters here, Mr. Jiwal said three types of arrangements — crowd control, crime prevention and raising awareness to prevent COVID-19 spread — had been made to safeguard the public. He said 18,000 personnel from law and order, crime, traffic, Armed Force and the Tamil Nadu Special Force will provide a three-tier security with extra vigil.
Temporary watchtowers have been set up, and police personnel have been posted at the spots on a rotational basis. Additional CCTV cameras and temporary control rooms have also been set up, and personnel have been monitoring the movement of crowds to prevent chain snatching and other offences.
Drones have been deployed for surveillance in crowded places. Scarves have been distributed to women shoppers to guard against chainsnatchers. Mr. Jiwal said personnel with body cameras had been deployed to prevent criminal activities in crowded locations, and over 1200 sub-inspectors had been given face recognition cameras to assist during patrols.
He said the public could burst crackers in the specified time as per the order of the Supreme Court, and that action would be initiated against violators. Mr. Jiwal rewarded 57 police personnel from the Central Crime Branch who recently traced and arrested the accused in online fraud, land grab, forgery and other cases.
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