Pune cops call for caution during Ganesh festtival

The Pune police commissioner, Meeran Chadha-Borwankar, has appealed to Ganesh mandals to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at the pandals during the forthcoming Ganesh festival.

She had a meeting with the authorities of Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and representatives of Ganesh mandals of Pimpri-Chinchwad area at the Acharya Atre auditorium in Pimpri on Thursday evening.

The deputy commissioner of police, Dnyaneshwar Chavan; Pimpri-Chinchwad mayor Yogesh Behl and additional commissioner of PCMC, Prakash Kadam, were present.

Borwankar said that during the festival, the mandals should cooperate with the police in maintaining law and order.

“The mandals should install CCTVs at and near the mandaps so that constant vigil could be kept on the movement of people,” she said. The CCTV should also be installed at the immersion routes and the ghats during immersion.

The city police chief said that the use of the loudspeakers should be stopped after 10 pm.

“If any mandal is found breaking the rule, police would take action and penalty of Rs5 lakh would be imposed on such mandals,” she warned, adding that last year 150 such cases were reported from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

Chavan said that one-third portion of the road should be kept free for road users and vehicles. “The remaining portion can be used to set up the pandals. Parking of vehicles near the pandals will be prohibited,” he added.