Mumbai: 19,000 cops for security during Ganesh festival

Heavy security arrangements have been put in place for the widely celebrated Ganesh festival with 19,000 policemen deployed across the city to prevent any untoward incident during the event, police said on Tuesday.

Ganesh Chaturthi marks the commencement of the 10-day festival from Tuesday.

About 18,000 policemen of the strong 45,000 force have been posted in different parts of the city as part of the festival security. 1,000 more policemen were called in from different parts of the state to guard the metropolis, the police said.

Special security arrangements have been made for 'Lalbaugcha Raja' Ganesh idol, one of the most popular mandals attracting around one crore devotees, including filmstars and politicians.

Besides city policemen, four companies of the State Reserve Police, six companies of Centeral Reserve Police Force, and three companies of Rapid Action Force will also help police, along with 2,500 jawans from the Home Guard and Civil Defence, police said.

Twelve bomb defusing squads and four vans with cameras installed will roam around the city to record any suspicious movements, police said. Metal detectors and CCTV cameras have been installed at prominent Ganesh mandals in the city to keep a close watch over people, police added.