Telangana DGP orders geo-tagging of Ganesh pandals, pre-plans immersion safety

Telangana's Director General of Police, C.V. Anand, has issued a comprehensive security directive to all police units ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which runs from September 14 to 25. The instructions, delivered via video conference to senior officers and Station House Officers, cover pandal setup, crowd management, and the final immersion procession.

A key element of the plan is the introduction of a dedicated online portal for tracking pandals. Officers have been given individual logins to upload details such as pandal locations, organiser and committee member names, and the particulars of vehicles slated for idol transport. The DGP specifically ordered the use of geo-tagging to map every pandal and to log security inspection results on the TG-COP platform.

Anand stressed the need for vigilance from the moment pandals are erected until the immersion concludes. He highlighted electrical safety as a priority to prevent accidents, and called for advance traffic planning at sites expected to draw large crowds. Organisers have been urged to deploy volunteers, install CCTV, and set up orderly queue systems.

For the immersion on September 25, officers were told to map all routes, roads, and bridges in advance, and to assess the load-bearing capacity of bridges along those paths. The DGP also emphasised inter-departmental coordination, directing police stations, Commissioners, DCPs, and district SPs to hold pre-festival meetings with Ganesh Utsav committees and peace committees. Additionally, he instructed a close watch on social media for content that could disturb public order.