Drones and heavy security blanket Shirgao jatra

Panaji/Bicholim:Shree Devi Lairai jatra at Shirgao started on Friday with thousands of dhonds (devotees) raising slogans of Har Har Mahadev and Lairai Mata Ki Jai. Dhonds fast during the five days of the festival and travel not just from across Goa but also from neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Dinanath Gaonkar, president of the temple management committee, said that govt has made the arrangements required to ensure trouble-free proceedings during the five days of the festivity.
The state administration has been on its toes, as around 1,000 police personnel were deployed for the jatra. Drones were placed to maintain aerial surveillance on the crowd movements. A vajra van (riot control vehicle) was also stationed at the venue. Chief minister Pramod Sawant, accompanied by his wife, Sulakshana, Rajya Sabha MP Sadanand Shet Tanawade, and MLAs Premendra Shet and Carlos Ferreira, visited the jatra to seek the blessing of the goddess.
This year, the jatra saw its largest-ever police deployment for security and smooth proceedings.
SP North Akshat Kaushal said that one dySP, 14 police inspectors, 28 police sub-inspectors, 16 assistant sub-inspectors, 50 head constables, 310 police constables, and 65 lady police constables from the North Goa district police were deployed for effective crowd control and to ensure safe and smooth passage for the devotees.
In addition, three male and two female platoons of IRBn, along with 50 police constables from the reserve police force, were deployed. From the traffic police, one dySP, seven police inspectors, 18 police sub-inspectors/assistant sub-inspectors, and 300 police constables/home guards were deployed to maintain the smooth flow of traffic and proper parking of vehicles in designated areas.
Police staff in civil clothes were also deployed to monitor and identify anti-social elements and to prevent crimes such as pickpocketing and eve-teasing.