Patna: The Patna district administration has announced sweeping security measures for New Year’s Eve, deploying more than 125 magistrates across 104 public and sensitive locations and imposing a temporary ban on boat traffic on the Ganges.
Boat operations on the river will be suspended from 6pm on December 31 until 6pm on January 1 as part of efforts to maintain law and order during the celebrations. Four magistrates and police officers have been assigned specifically to enforce the ban, while National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams will conduct intensive river patrolling.
Heightened vigilance has been ordered at major crowd-pull locations, including Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park, Eco Park, Gandhi Maidan, Kumhrar, the Hanuman temple near Patna Junction, ISKCON Temple, Panchmukhi Hanuman Temple on Nehru Path and Patan Devi Temple. Additional security arrangements have been put in place around picnic spots to ensure pedestrian safety.
According to officials, 24 magistrates will remain on reserve at the district control room, operating in three shifts. Sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) and sub-divisional police officers (SDPOs) have been instructed to deploy additional magistrates and police personnel in their respective jurisdictions as required.
The district administration and Patna police have also issued a helpline for the public to report suspicious activity 24×7. Information can be shared with the district control room on 0612-2219810 or 0612-2219234, or by dialling the emergency number 112.
Medical preparedness has been stepped up, with two ambulances stationed at the control room and one ambulance each deployed at key crowded areas, including Eco Park, Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park gates 1 and 2, the Kumhrar excavation site, the Hanuman temple near Patna Junction, ISKCON Temple, Buddha Marg and the Rotary Roundabout control room at Digha. Quick response teams have been positioned at major locations such as Eco Park, the Secretariat, Patna Junction Hanuman Temple, Kumhrar Park, Gandhi Maidan’s Children’s Park and Buddha Marg.
Barricades will be erected to regulate vehicle movement from the night of December 31 until late on January 1. The senior superintendent of police said foot patrols would be carried out on JP Ganga Path and along the riverfront, alongside intensive night patrols by special mobile teams.
