Kathmandu. A total of 3,506 police personnel have been deployed in the Kathmandu Valley targeting the major festivals including Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. The police have implemented a special security plan to control the possible criminal activities during the festival and to create an environment for the citizens to celebrate the festival safely and without any fear.

According to the District Police Range, Kathmandu, police have been mobilized with special plan to control criminal activities like theft, robbery and fraud taking place in markets, public places, transport and other areas during the festival season.

Range Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Dan Bahadur Thapa said the security arrangement has been put in place keeping in mind the people going out of the house in course of celebrating festivals, those going to the markets for shopping and those travelling to different places.

According to him, one hundred of the police deployed under the security arrangements for the festival are in plain clothes. They will help in surveillance in public places and crowded areas, identify suspicious activities and control possible criminal activities.

The police have also given priority to the use of technology in addition to the traditional security patrols. Community service centers, drones, cameras, social media and trained dogs have been used for security surveillance. SP Thapa said that the identification of suspicious activities and security management will be made effective with the coordination of technology and manpower.

Crowded area security priority

Special surveillance has been increased at public places, bus parks, financial institutions and their surrounding areas, government offices and markets targeted for the festivals as the movement of the general public will increase during the festival time. Spokesperson Thapa said that along with the regular police, plainclothes police personnel have also been deployed in places where there is a large crowd of citizens.

According to the police, the number of people shopping, returning home and visiting relatives will increase during Dashain and Tihar, which may increase the security challenges in the markets and transport centers. The police team has been activated to prevent theft, pickpocketing, fraud and other undesirable activities in such areas.

Similarly, attention has also been paid to the security of financial institutions and areas where financial transactions take place. Police said that vigilance has been increased to control possible criminal activities as people carry money for shopping and other purposes during the festival.

Security plan implemented in fourteen sectors

SP Thapa said that the security plan has been implemented targeting 14 sectors of Kathmandu Valley to make the security system systematic and effective during the festivals. According to him, arrangements have been made to directly monitor the security arrangements by mobilizing the chiefs of the concerned police circles in these sectors.

He said, “We have implemented a security plan targeting 14 sectors of the valley. The police circle chief will be deployed in these sectors and the range will monitor it. The range chief and senior officers will also be deployed according to the security plan. ‘

The police said that the sectoral responsibility will make the presence of the police effective in the concerned area and it will be easier to mobilize immediately after receiving information about the incident. The chief of the police circle will monitor the security situation in his area and the district police range will monitor the overall security arrangements.

Under the security plan, priority has been given to the mobilization of police manpower, regular patrolling, monitoring of suspicious activities and immediate deployment of police teams as per the need. In order to make the security arrangements effective, senior police officers including the Campus Chief will also be involved in monitoring and implementing the plan.

Police

According to the police, the main objective of the security plan is to create an environment where the citizens can celebrate the festival without any fear as the police have increased their activism to control criminal activities.

According to the police, security arrangements have been tightened due to the increasing number of shoppers in the market during Dashain, Tihar and Chhath, the increasing number of passengers in public transport and religious and cultural activities in different places. During this period, police have been deployed in the work ranging from surveillance of public places to identification of suspicious activities.

Along with the mobilization of manpower, the police have also given priority to the use of technology and coordination with various agencies. The police said that the use of plainclothes police, drone cameras and trained dogs is expected to make the security surveillance more effective.

Meanwhile, the police have urged the general public to be vigilant as the police activity is important to control the possible criminal activities during the festival. The police have requested to pay attention to the security of your home and property, be aware of the activities of strangers and inform the nearest police office if you see suspicious activity.