Cops train volunteers on firefighting, crowd mgmt techniques

Ranchi: The district administration has trained hundreds of volunteers in crowd management and firefighting techniques to ensure the safety of devotees during the Durga Puja celebrations. The police have instructed the volunteers to maintain a humble and respectful demeanour while regulating the movement of people in the pandals. To ensure credibility of the volunteers, the puja committees have been asked to verify their backgrounds and provide their details to the local police stations for cross-verification. The volunteers will be given badges for easy identification among the crowd.

Apart from the police personnel and officials, volunteers from puja committees and social organisations, such as Yuva Dasta, which has prepared a group of 600 members, are involved in managing the smooth flow of people at the pandals. However, some puja organisers have had negative experiences with volunteers in the past, with instances of misbehaviour, aggression, and eve-teasing. Anand Manek of Bharti Yuwak Sangh said, “We have stopped taking volunteers from outside. Apart from the police, only the puja committee members and private security guards are deployed. In the past, some of the volunteers deployed in our pandals were engaged in drinking and eve teasing.”

SSP Chandan Kumar Sinha emphasized that the organizers have been advised to deploy female volunteers in the pandals. With lakhs of people visiting pandals and the streets of the city, the administration relies on the assistance of volunteers for various tasks, including managing queues, preventing stampedes, ensuring smooth traffic flow near pandals, monitoring CCTV cameras, and preventing petty crimes such as eve-teasing and chain-snatching.

Ranchi deputy inspector general Anoop Birtharay said, “A detailed standard operating procedures for appointment of volunteers have been provided to the puja committees during peace committee meetings. The volunteers are expected to inform the police in case anyone is indulging in crime and not beat up the suspect.”

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