Cops to keep hawk's eye on Mumbai on New Year's eve

Mrityunjay Bose, DHNS, Mumbai,

Dec 30 2018, 23:18 ist
updated: Dec 30 2018, 23:36 ist

To maintain a hawk-eyed vigil during the New Year celebrations, more than a lakh cops will be deployed in Mumbai and the larger Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

From December 31 to January 1, 2019, multi-layered tight security arrangements will be in place in Mumbai in view of the festivities and also the 1st anniversary of the Koregaon Bhima violence.

The Pune district, where Koregaon Bhima is located, is already on high alert. Security in remaining parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region too has significantly beefed up and coastal police stations have been put on alert.

The officers and personnel on duty in Mumbai would include teams from local police stations and assisted teams of Crime Branch, Special Branch, Local Armed cops, State Reserve Police Force, Riot Control Police, Quick Response Teams, Home Guards and Bomb Detection & Disposal Squad.

"We have made elaborate arrangements," Deputy Commissioner of Police Manjunath Singe said. Instructions are given to hotel and bar owners; licenses will be suspended if instructions are not followed. Boat parties in the Arabian Sea have been banned.

There would be strict action against drunken driving, officials said. The Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR), that runs the suburban train services and considered the lifeline of Mumbai, will be running additional trains past midnight. Extra buses of BEST and other municipal transport would be pressed into service in the MMR to cater to the rush.

"The main focus is on beaches, the parking lots at five-star hotels, pubs and places, where revellers will gather in large numbers. Several specialised teams and policemen in plainclothes, including women’s safety squads, will keep an eye on every place," said the officials.

Security was also beefed up in the temple town of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, as lakhs of people turn up on the first day of calendar year, to seek blessings of Sai Baba. In Mumbai's Siddhivinayak temple the security was beefed up too.

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