Hyderabad: Telangana Director General of Police C.V. Anand has directed police officers across the state to strengthen security and operational arrangements for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.
The directions focus on using digital tools to monitor Ganesh pandals, planning idol immersion routes in advance and deploying specialised security teams where required. The measures are aimed at ensuring better coordination between police units, festival organisers and local communities during the celebrations.
Ganesh Pandals to Be Digitally Tracked
Under the new arrangements, details of Ganesh pandals across Telangana will be digitally recorded and monitored through a dedicated online portal.
The information will include the exact location of each pandal, details of organisers and committee members, as well as vehicles designated for idol immersion.
This digital database is expected to give police officials a clearer picture of the scale and location of festival activity and help them coordinate security arrangements more efficiently.
Station House Officers (SHOs) will be given dedicated logins to maintain oversight of the information related to pandals in their respective jurisdictions.
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Senior Police Officers Asked to Inspect Pandals
The DGP has also directed senior police officials to personally inspect Ganesh pandals and record their observations through official channels.
Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police will be responsible for carrying out inspections and ensuring that security arrangements are properly assessed.
The involvement of senior officers is intended to provide closer supervision of arrangements at important locations and ensure that potential security or operational issues are identified before the festivities and immersion process.
Geo-Tagging to Support Real-Time Monitoring
Police units will also upload the geo-tagged locations of Ganesh pandals and local security arrangements onto the TG-COP platform.
Geo-tagging will allow police authorities to establish a digital map of festival locations and security deployments. This can help officers access location-based information while coordinating personnel and responding to situations on the ground.
The use of the TG-COP platform is expected to strengthen real-time oversight and improve communication between different levels of the police administration.
Immersion Routes and Bridges to Be Mapped
A major focus of the security planning is the idol immersion process, which attracts large crowds and involves significant movement of vehicles and people.
Police officers have been directed to map immersion routes, bridges and roads in advance and assess their load-bearing capacity. These assessments will help authorities determine suitable routes for immersion vehicles and identify locations where additional precautions may be necessary.
Traffic diversions and security plans will be prepared in coordination with these assessments. Advance route planning is expected to help reduce congestion and minimise risks during the movement of large processions.
Bomb Detection Teams and Dog Squads to Be Deployed
Specialised security resources will also form part of the festival arrangements.
Bomb detection teams and dog squads will be deployed wherever required based on local security assessments. Police units will coordinate these deployments with other operational arrangements to strengthen security at sensitive or high-footfall locations.
The approach allows individual districts and police units to respond according to their local requirements rather than relying on a uniform deployment pattern.
Coordination with Festival and Peace Committees
The DGP has further directed police officers to maintain regular coordination meetings with Ganesh Utsav committees and local peace committees.
Such coordination is intended to keep organisers and police authorities aligned on issues such as procession routes, immersion arrangements, traffic management and local security requirements.
Engagement with community representatives can also help police identify local concerns in advance and address issues before they affect the smooth conduct of the festival.
Technology-Driven Festival Management
The security plan combines traditional policing with digital monitoring and advance infrastructure assessment.
By creating a digital record of pandals, geo-tagging their locations, inspecting sites through senior officers and mapping immersion routes, Telangana Police are seeking to improve their ability to plan resources and respond to emerging situations.
The measures also place greater emphasis on coordination between police officers, festival organisers and local communities.
With Ganesh festivities involving large gatherings and processions across the state, advance planning will be important for managing crowds, traffic and security simultaneously. The DGP’s directions are aimed at ensuring that celebrations proceed smoothly while police maintain better visibility over festival locations and immersion-related movements.
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