Amid experiences of clashes in different pockets in West Bengal over Ram Navami processions in the past, Kolkata Police have decided to bring the routes this year on April 6 under blanket CCTV coverage.

Accordingly, communication has reached from the city police headquarters to the police stations concerned, under whose jurisdictions the processions will move, to immediately survey the working conditions of the CCTV installations in those routes.

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The reports from the police station, an insider from the city police said, will have to detail the existing working conditions of CCTV cameras already installed in those routes.

“Any malfunctioning set in the routes concerned should have to be repaired or even replaced immediately. At the same time the officers-in-charge of the police station concerned have also been asked to send a report to the office of the commissioner on where there is any requirement for installation of additional CCTV cameras in any route,” said the city police insider.

At the same time, he added, this time the police officers and personnel, who would be escorting such processions, should also have to use body cameras to ensure total surveillance and recording of the events from the beginning to the end.

Sources from the city police said the authorities are especially cautious of the Ram Navami processions this year amid efforts by the procession organizers to pull additional crowds at the events this year.

The Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari already claimed earlier this month that the state unit of BJP and its affiliated bodies will be organising at least 2,000 processions on the occasion of Ram Navami this year.

Adhikari also said the participation at the rallies on Ram Navami this year will be double what it was in the previous year.

“Ram Navami will be celebrated this year in a major way. I will be there on the streets on that day. Last year around 50 lakh Hindus were there on the streets to participate in rallies on the occasion of Ram Navami. Last year there were 1,000 rallies. This year there will be 2,000 rallies and around one crore Hindus will participate in those rallies this year,” he said.