Puri, Dec 30 : About 82 platoons of police force besides experienced officers and home guards will be deployed for the crowd management of tourists and pilgrims in the new year in this pilgrim town, Inspector General (central range) Asish Kumar Singh said on Saturday.
Addressing newsmen here, Singh said the town has been divided into five divisions and nine sectors by the police for security with special focus on hassle free darshan of the deities in Sri Jagannath temple.
Four layers of security will be put along the five km long stretch of Puri beach line and four police aid posts will be established to help visitors .
A traffic advisory will be issued on Sunday which will be enforced from Sunday midnight,the IG said.
Sri Jagannath Temple Chief Administrator Ranjan Kumar Das said the normal daily temple rituals have been rescheduled as lakhs of devotees will throng temple for darshan of lord Jagannath and his siblings to seek blessings for a prosperous new year
The temple will open at 1 am on Sunday night and devotees will be allowed inside the temple to have darshan of the deities ,Das said.
The SJTA Chief Administrator said wearing of decent clothing to enter into temple will be enforced from January1 while ban on gutka, chewing of betel and use of plastic items will also be enforced inside the temple
Puri Collector Samarth Verma said the general devotees will have to go through the barricades while special corridors have been made for the women, senior citizen and differently able devotees.
Three to four thousand devotees could rest within the AC shed when the darshan is closed for observance of rituals of deities, he said.
Hundreds of chairs were set up within the AC shed barricades for the devotees while drinking water and toilet facilities will be made available for them, he added.
Volunteers will be oppressed into service to cater to the needs of devotees. A special corridor will be created along the Grand Road( Badadanda) for ambulance movement.
He announced that the biggest vending zone of the state will be established near the Sri Setu to accommodate all the displaced street vendors from the Grand Road.
The administration has evicted all the vendors operating in between Hospital square and Simhadwar to facilitate hassle free movement of devotees on the Grand Road.
The displaced vendors will be paid Rs.15,000 per month and Rs.5000 towards shifting cost. They will also be paid for installation of their counters near the Sri Setu area .
Over three thousand street vendors were evicted from the Grand Road .The Administration is giving a face lift to the town by decorative illuminations of main streets for the new year and for the inauguration of Sri Mandir Parikrama corridor to be held on January 17 next.
