13,000 cops to be deployed at Bengal's Gangasagar Mela in apprehension of terror threat

Kolkata, Dec 30 (IANS) A total of 13,000 policemen will be deputed at Sagar Islands in West Bengal's coastal South 24 Parganas district on the occasion of the forthcoming annual Gangasagar Mela to be organised there next month, officials said on Monday.

The announcement was made at a press conference of district administration and police officials including the South 24 Parganas District Magistrate Sumit Gupta and Sundarban Police District Superintendent Koteshwar Rao.

The Gangasagar Mela this time is scheduled to start on January 8 and the last day of the event is January 17. The time for a holy bath on the occasion of Makar Sankranti is scheduled from 6.58 a.m. on January 14 to the same time on January 15.

"A total of 13,000 policemen will be deployed at Sagar Islands on the occasion of Gangasagar Mela this time. There will be both land and coastal surveillance. Besides uniformed policemen, there will be plain-dress cops there. There will also be aerial surveillance through drones. The Indian Coast Guard and National Disaster Response Force will also be there on the occasion,” said Rao.

Gupta informed that additional lights will be installed on the jetties and towers on the rivers so that the pilgrims do not face any problems even in the midst of dense fog quite frequent there during this time of the year. “A total of 1,150 CCTV cameras have already been installed at Sagar island for the occasion,” he added.

A senior official of the state police said that generally security measures are beefed up during the Gangasagar Mela days every year. “However, this time some extra precautions are being adopted in wake of alerts that illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators might try to create trouble during the occasion amid the political crisis in the neighbouring nation,” he added.

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