With the first day of Krishna Pushkaralu going off smoothly, officials and Ministers concerned heaved a sigh of relief.
Their apprehensions over a repeat of the tragic first day in Godavari Pushkaralu last year ceased right in the beginning hours of the festival on Friday when less than expected rush was seen.
However, a lot of lessons learnt from the last year’s mishap helped officials put a great deal of efforts and planning to make things smooth for the pilgrims.
“In fact, until sunrise all the officials were on their toes. We all were working till late night yesterday and woke up by 3 a.m. Made all arrangements and plans so that no apprehensions of untoward incidents arise,” said DGP N. Sambasiva Rao, at a press conference.
“We have been observing the influx through control rooms at Railway Station, Bus Station and the department’s and achieved high preparedness. Considering the rate of influx we are easing off roads, ghats.
It is common that anyone would have fears having in mind the last year’s mishap but we overcame them,” Mr. Rao said.
Free RTC services a hit
Pilgrims are pleased with the free RTC services that helped them reach the desired ghats hassle-free. The same as well as separating single ghat into many small areas of administration also helped officials manage movement of pilgrims with ease. “Shunning my motorcycle I took a bus and reached the city from where I have directly reached the Krishnaveni Ghat. The experience was cool and there was no confusion,” said P. Narsaiah, a pilgrim from Vatticherukuru village in Guntur district.
“Keeping in mind the last year’s stampede, we have made all arrangements to handle tens of lakhs of pilgrims at once.
We are expecting more crowds from tomorrow due to consecutive holidays. We are plying buses as close as possible to the ghats and Kankadurga Temple,” said Home Minister and Dy. CM N. Chinnarajappa.
An advanced Operational Command Control Centre is also playing a key role in crowd management. “If there are four persons per square metre in a ghat, it is considered a stampede.
The system alerts us even before such situation arises,” said Mr. Sambasiva Rao explaining the efficiency of the live system they had.
All the ghats and connecting parts of the city which are under electronic surveillance of over 400 high resolution cameras are being monitored live 24x7 by the technical team of the AP Police on multiple screens at the Centre.
