Odisha DGP chairs high-level meeting for security arrangement for Puri Rath Yatra-2026

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Cuttack: The world-famous Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra is going to be held in Puri on July 16. To ensure that this historic festival is conducted in an orderly, secure and well-organized manner, a high-level meeting was held today at the State Police Headquarters in Cuttack under the chairmanship of Director General of Police (DGP) Yogesh Bahadur (YB) Khurania.

In the meeting, Khurania directed senior police officers to further strengthen all security and management systems during the Rath Yatra and work in a coordinated manner from the grassroots level. He advised to keep a special eye on every system so that no irregularities occur under any circumstances.

As per the tradition of the temple, various rituals of Lord Jagannath will be observed on specific dates. Debasnan Purnima will be held on June 29, Nabajouban Darshan on July 14, Rath Yatra on July 16, Hera Panchami on July 20, Sandhya Darshan on July 23, Bahuda Yatra on July 24, Suna Besha on July 25, Adharpana on July 26 and Niladri Bije on July 27. Since lakhs of devotees from all over the country and abroad are likely to gather in Puri on all these occasions, it was decided in the meeting to make the security arrangements more extensive and more effective.

Many new steps have been planned to be taken this year to ensure the safety of devotees and control the crowd effectively during the Rath Yatra. Eight additional parking spots have been identified to strengthen traffic management. A special clearance party will be deployed in front of the Rath Yatra to ensure the smooth movement of the Rath Yatra during the Rath Yatra. Crack teams will be deployed in crowded places and the security arrangements will be tightened further.

Apart from this, the meeting discussed in detail the installation of additional CCTV cameras at various important places in the city, provision of road dividers, delineators and traffic zones for traffic management, adequate parking facilities and orderly traffic management.

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To control crime in Puri city, the DGP directed the Puri SP to conduct special drives in all police stations and conduct regular checks in hotels and lodges. Since there is a possibility of habitual criminals from other states arriving during the Rath Yatra, it has also been ordered to collect their photos and display them on LED screens at railway stations and bus stands.

It was also discussed to tighten police patrolling in the coastal areas and open temporary police outposts. In addition, it was discussed to make extensive security arrangements at Puri, Bhubaneswar, Khordha and Jatni railway stations by the Railway Police. The DGP advised to work in coordination with the RPF.

Along with this, the DGP discussed in detail the deployment of security vehicles near the temple, deployment of K-9 squad, deployment of NSG trained SOG team, deployment of STU team, special security arrangements to avoid situations like dalachakata, necessary facilities for accommodation of police force, orderly vehicles, barricade arrangements, solving urgent problems in coordination with the district administration and special arrangements for orderly darshan of devotees.

The meeting, which was attended many senior officials, also laid special emphasis on dealing with emergency situations, accident management and ensuring quick coordination between various departments.

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