Kolkata: Kolkata Police personnel are all geared up to secure the city, especially Park Street and other crowded areas, for Christmas.
Several roads have been made 'No Entry' zones from 4 pm on Friday. Park Street was made a 'No Entry' zone from the evening till dispersal of the crowd. A special women police team in plainclothes will be there on Christmas to stop crimes against women like molestation, eve-teasing etc.
According to the police, all night clubs, bars and hotels in the area are being kept under strict vigil. Approximately 3,500 police personnel have been deputed in the city to avoid any untoward incident. Police personnel in uniform and plainclothes will monitor the shopping malls and Metro stations across the city while divisional mobile vans will be patrolling Kolkata round-the-clock. Apart from this, 19 Quick Response Teams (QRT) along with Heavy Radio Flying Squad (HRFS) vans will be posted at strategic points in the city to prevent any untoward incident.
Two QRTs will be there in and around Park Street. Also, Kolkata Police has set up a team of 25 women police personnel who will be deployed among the crowd to stop eve-teasers and molesters from harassing women.
Police will monitor the whole Park Street area through several CCTV cameras, drones and 11 watch towers. Two combat personnel equipped with INSAS rifle, night vision binoculars will be there in each of the watch towers.
Sources informed that special emphasis will be given to Park Street. The area has been divided into 11 sectors. Five Deputy Commissioners (DC) will be in charge of these sectors. DC, South, Akash Magharia will be in charge of the overall supervision. This apart, special naka checking will be done by the traffic police to stop errant drivers and two-wheeler riders. Anti Crime teams from the Detective Department (DD) and Anti-Rowdy Squad (ARS) will maintain strict vigil across the city in order to intervene in case of any deterioration of the law and order situation. Night clubs, bars and pubs will be under scanner from Friday night. Strict vigil will be kept to stop rooftop parties in the city as well. The Disaster Management Group (DMG) team will also be on standby, in case of urgent intervention. The all-women Winners team will also be patrolling to ensure safety and security of women across the city.
Apart from Kolkata Police, Bidhannagar City Police has also made elaborate arrangements for the Christmas day. Around 2,000 police personnel will be deployed across its jurisdiction. Security in Eco Park and other places where a large number of people may gather have been stepped up. Police personnel in plainclothes will mix up in the crowd to stop incidents like pick-pockets, snatching and others. The all-women Winners team will also patrol the area to prevent eve-teasing and molestation.