Hyderabad: Ahead of Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra which will take place on Sunday, a coordination meeting was held on Thursday with officers from all departments at Draupadi Garden in Sitaram Bagh. The Hyderabad city police Commissioner CV Anand instructed the organisers of using a regular sound system instead of a DJ. He asked the organisers to ensure that there are no songs or speeches that denigrate other communities during the Shobha Yatra.

All departments of the Hyderabad City Police and the Special Police are preparing to provide security with 20,000 police personnel for the Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra. The police have established full-scale surveillance on the movements of criminals with the She Team and CCS police.

The Commissioner said that the police are making significant security arrangements from the beginning to the end point to prevent any untoward incidents. The people and the organisers of the festival should cooperate with the police for the peaceful conduct of the Shobha Yatra.

CV Anand said that the Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra was started in 2010 and has gained fame across the country in a short time. The Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra proceeds from Sitaram Bagh to Hanuman Gymnasium. He requested that arrangements should be made to start the Shobha Yatra by 1 pm. Keeping in mind past experiences, and considering that the Shobha Yatra routes are quite narrow, making it difficult for large vehicles to pass, the festival committee members were asked to arrange a trial run with the vehicles in advance. “Since the Police Department is monitoring security with the help of drones, it was suggested that anyone wishing to use drones should obtain permission from the local police in advance. Otherwise, it will cause problems for both, the Shobha Yatra organisers and the police,” said Anand.

A joint control room will be set up in the ICCC building to monitor the Shobha Yatra. He asked all government departments to take steps to ensure that the Shobha Yatra ends successfully without any problems. He said that special security arrangements will be made at all major intersections and problematic areas along the Shobha Yatra route, along with continuous monitoring through CCTV cameras. He asked the organisers and people to follow the rules during the Shobha Yatra and celebrate the festival with devotion. The organisers of the Shobha Yatra should take appropriate precautions regarding the height of the idols.

He suggested that Hyderabad Zonal Police Officers and other departmental officers form WhatsApp groups with their staff to facilitate information sharing. He said that preventive measures have been taken to prevent any untoward incident in Hyderabad.

GHMC Additional Commissioner said that all arrangements are being made for the Sri Rama Navami Shobha Yatra. Orders have been issued to all officials for road repairs, street lights, and other facilities, and instructions have been given to our officials to ensure that devotees do not face any inconvenience.

After the coordination meeting, Police Commissioner, GHMC Additional Commissioner, members of the Bhagyanagar Sri Ramanavami Utsav Samiti, and officials from R&B, Electricity, Fire, 108 Service, RTC, Water Supply, Transport, and other departments jointly inspected the main procession route of the Sri Ramanavami Shobha Yatra scheduled for the 6th. The procession will start from Mangal Hot, proceeding via Puranapool Gandhi Statue, Jummerath Bazaar, Siddi Amber Bazaar, Afzal Ganj, Gowliguda, Koti Andhra Bank Chowrasta, and end at Hanuman Gymnasium Ground.

Vikram Singh Mann, Additional CP Law and Order; Joel Davis, Joint CP Traffic; G Chandra Mohan, DCP South West Zone; B Balaswamy, DCP East Zone; Raghu Prasad, Additional Commissioner GHMC; Srinivasa Rao, DYRM RTC; Bhagavantha Rao, Secretary, Bhagyanagar Utsav Committee; Krishna, Organiser; Govind Ratke, General Secretary, Bhagyanagar Utsav Committee; Anand Singh, Amarender Reddy, Water Works; Chaitanya Kumar, DCP SB; Sneha Mehra DCP South Zone; and other police officers were present.