Ganapati mandals to hire brawn to prevent brawls

Dagdusheth to keep bouncers outside pandal; Akhil Mandai Mandal also in talks to appoint a few musclemen

Ganapati mandals to hire brawn to prevent brawls

Dagdusheth to keep bouncers outside pandal; Akhil Mandai Mandal also in talks to appoint a few musclemen

Rough and tough: (From left) Sharad Pawar, proprietor of Alert Security
Force, with Dinesh Buva, Joginder Singh, Sudarshan Bahirat

Eight such bouncers in black T-shirts will be seen managing the crowd inu00a0 at least two of the important Ganesh mandals in the city. Appointing bouncers, however, is an expensive affair, as these men are generally body-builders or heavyweight wrestlers, whose brawn is seen as a deterrent to the designs of those up to no good.u00a0 Also, these bouncers do not use any kind of weapons.u00a0

Au00a0group of bouncers is all ready to flex their muscles this Ganeshotsav

Mahesh Survawanshi, treasurer of Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Mandal, said: "We are appointing a group of six bouncers for the first time outside the pandals and the surrounding area. Though we already have elaborate security arrangements with hi-tech CCTVs and police bandobast, we don't want any small issue to be blown out of proportion.

These trained bouncers can sort out any trivial issues which may become bigger during the 12 days of Ganeshotsav," Survawanshhi said. "We are spending sizable amount on the security, including appointment of bouncers."

Sharad Pawar (33), proprietor of Alert Security Force, said he had employed bouncers for the first time. Pawar himself is 6.5-feet tall and hefty and is the driving force behind the organisation that he has been running for the last 11 years. "Yes, we are providing six bouncers for Dagdusheth Ganpati Mandal and 25 security guards equipped with walkie- talkie sets, metal detectors and arms," said Pawar. "Talks with the nearby Akhil Mandai Mandal are on, and they are also likely to appoint bouncers or security guards from us." The trend of using bouncers during Ganpati festival will catch on next year, Pawar added.

At Dahi Handi
A dahi handi mandal from the Mahatma Society in Kothrud also made use of three bouncers to control the enthusiastic youths. Pawar has a team of officers including Dinesh Buva, Joginder Singh, Sudarshan Bahirat, N R Singh and A B Tiwari, who have been providing training to the bouncers and security guards in the group. "The ex-army men have their own weapon licences and it can be used for this purpose too," said Bahirat.u00a0

3 Number of bouncer service providers in the city

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