Police make elaborate arrangements; consecutive dry days declared; schools and colleges to remain open
Police make elaborate arrangements; consecutive dry days declared; schools and colleges to remain open
The Ayodhya verdict is today, and the state government is not taking any chances. Besides imposing Section 144 of CrPC and banning unlawful assembly of five or more people in the city, it has declared today and tomorrow dry days. As the day after tomorrow is Gandhi Jayanti, that makes it three straight days without sale of liquor allowed in shops, bars and restaurants.
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Chandrakant Shahasane, inspector, State Excise Department (Zone IV), said the official dry days order was in.
"We were verbally informed yesterday morning and by 2 pm, we had received official letters," said Shahasane.
The city has 165 liquor shops and beer shops, and 500 bars. Vijay Kutti, president of the Pune District Wine Trader's Associations said the estimated losses for the three days would be around Rs 5 crore.
"It's not only shop owners but also distributors who will face losses. It has been a lean period for us; first Shravan, then Ganesh Chaturthi and now these dry days," said Kutti. "And then, there is a dry day again on October 8."
Pankaj Soneja, owner of S Wines, said, "We have three days' holiday, but it will affect us a lot. Each shop will face losses of Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh each day."
As the dry days are at the weekend, lounge bars and restaurants that make their money on Friday and Saturday will lose out on business big time. Ganesh Shetty, president, Pune Restaurants and Hotels Association, said that they will face losses of around Rs 2 crore in the three days.
"Restaurants that survive only on liquor will be kept closed. Those which serve both food and liquor will face major losses," said Shetty. "Each place can lose around Rs 15,000 to 20,000 per day."
There are around 3,000 restaurants, including nightclubs and eateries, in the city. Neil Shah, owner of a lounge bar in Koregaon Park, said that nothing much could be done about it as they will lose out on the weekend business.
Schools not closed
Schools and colleges will function as usual. Sunil Magar, deputy director, state education department, said, "All schools and colleges will be open. We are hopeful that there will be no riots or disturbances, so students will not lose a full day."
Magar added that in case of any disturbance in the city, immediate action would be taken.
N S Dixit, an official at the City International School, said the school would remain open unless the government sent a notification. Prof K R Joshi, principal, Modern College of Engineering, said the institution would remain open.
Autos, buses to ply
Autorickshaws will ply as usual. Baba Shinde, chairman, Pune City Autorickshaw Federation, said, "There will be no problems for commuters as autos will be running smoothly."As PMPML buses are soft targets, the police said they had made security arrangements at each of the 11 depots. There will be police patrolling throughout the day along bus routes to ensure no buses are attacked.
Police bandobast
The police said sufficient measures had been taken to ensure there would be no trouble.
"Mischief-makers have been identified at police station level and preventive detentions have been made over the last three days," said Commissioner of Police Meeran Chedha Borwankar.
The police have deployed 7,000 constables, 700 Home Guards, three SRPF teams and four Quick Response Teams to ensure peace in the city.
Send mails, say cops
Borwankar also appealed to citizens and all police personnel to record each and every suspicious activity on cell phones and share the information and evidence with the police. She asked people to either contact the police control room or by send emails to crimecom.pune.nic.in.
She said 100 additional wireless sets had been distributed among the police to ensure troublemakers like stone-throwers are rounded up. "Cases will be registered against miscreants who take the law in their hands and cases once registered will not be taken back," said Borwankar. "Fifty cameras have been installed in the city by the traffic police and will be used to monitor activities in the city."
The police have identified 75 'A Grade' sensitive spots for constant monitoring.Many citizens have shown willingness to work as volunteers along with the police. Borwankar said volunteers will be asked to be present at all the religious places of importance along with the police.
Hospitals on toes
Doctors at government hospitals have been doubled to tackle emergencies, if any. The hospitals are also geared up for the medical examination of detained people. From Tuesday CMOs, RMOs, interns and security staff have been strengthened. (With inputs from Alifiya Khan)
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