mumbai

Updated: Aug 25, 2016 01:07 IST

A heavy police presence will mark Janmashtami celebrations in the city today, as the traffic police said it will deploy officers at all junctions.

Officers said they will ensure that traffic movement is smooth during the festivities.

“All the traffic police officers have been asked to be on the ground and more importantly, around dahi handi venues. These spots will require enough police personnel to ensure traffic is smooth,” said Ashok Dudhe, deputy commissioner and Mumbai police spokesperson.

“We have sent a copy of the Supreme Court’s order to all police stations and have asked them to be extra vigilant,” said Dudhe.

The Supreme Court has restricted the height of human pyramids for dahi handi to 20 feet and banned children below 18 from participating.

The Mumbai police will also videograph all dahi handi venues. The policemen will videograph revellers who participate in forming human pyramids and halt celebrations if a particular mandal flouts the new rules. There are 3,387 dahi handi organisers in the city with around 1,000 considered as big players.

“We have given them conditional permission with clauses mentioning strict action if they fail to follow the apex court’s orders,” added Dudhe.

Officials said that apart from ensuring that pyramid height and age restrictions are complied with, the police will also check noise levels at all pandals with the help of decibel meters.

“In case the noise levels are above permissible limits, the police will also take action. These things have already been communicated with organisers,” said Dudhe.

The police have also issued legal notices to some mandals on the basis of their track record and blatantly violated rules in 2015. All the police stations had carried out a similar exercise last year and maintained a list of the organisers who did not pay heed to rules in 2015. They have been served a notice already.