I congratulate every citizen of this great city for his or her unflinching support to us in making the city’s biggest festival safe and a grand success. Durga Puja, which is truly secular in spirit, has hardly any parallel world-wide in terms of number of people visiting a big puja pandals.

Since we have worn uniform, our puja is to ensure that your festivity remains unspoilt.

A lot of planning and efforts go on behind our preparation for the puja just to ensure that you puja becomes an unalloyed joy; that you never get stuck in snarl too long; that your pandal hopping remains smooth. So, I thought I put some of the challenges we face and overcome during the festive seasons into a perspective.

It’s a year-long preparation that culminates into our on-the-field exercises all through five successive nights, starting from Shasthi to Dashami, the first day of immersion.  Durga puja to us is all about tackling numerous challenges like managing huge pedestrian traffic, particularly, near big puja pandals during puja days, keeping the mammoth traffic rolling, being extra alert and vigilant with possible threat of terrorist attack on the back of our mind. Besides, these there were uncertain weather and power situation and bad roads near big puja pandals.

In fact, our elaborate traffic arrangement itself matches any festivity if you look at its extent and magnitude. Besides, the nitty-gritty of traffic circulation plan, we construct barricades near puja pandals. Regulation and channelising of vehicular and pedestrian traffic is a major challenge. Then there were series of meetings at police station level, divisional level and of course at central level. All through we have to coordinate with power utility CESC and Fire Service, our two major partners in the process.

So on a daily basis, almost round the clock, we had to coordinate with public utlility services, inspect roads, intervene with voluntary agencies, PWD, CESC, Hooghly River Bridge Commissioners. The city police construct barricades near puja pandals.  The officers-in-charge of police stations had to interact with puja committees on day-to-day basis. We also had to put a strict vigil over forcible collection of chanda (donation or subscription). We engage a large number of NCC volunteers.

A festivity of such a colossal scale involves some risks, too, keeping in mind the security senario across the nation. Terrorists choose to strike, when casualty is likely be immense. So we carried out a massive check-up at guest houses, hotels and other places. We set up watch-towers for a better ‘bird-eye’ vigil at big puja pandals. At the same time, we kept rounding up known snatchers, lifters, pickpockets for a crime-free ambience. Along side the huge security exercises, we keep in mind not to be a spoiler. Our police excess should never dampen your festive spirit.

Just deployment-wise, it is a massive man-power management exercise. There is a deployment of 24,000 policemen, 3,000 home guards, 1500 green police volunteers, 1500 NCC and other volunteers forces and traffic wardens. During day-time, there is a skeleton deployment of forces for traffic movement and anti-crime measures. During day there is more insisting parking near pandals.

Durga puja – 2011 is over and we have less than one year now for the next Durga Puja – 2012. We are collecting feed backs from all officers for implementation for the next year, while preparing Police and other arrangements for the next year. Our annual examination is just over. Hopefully, we have passed the exam gracefully. You are the best judge.