Valley Police unveils festive-centric security plan

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Sept. 24: The Kathmandu Valley Police Office in coordination with all police units has implemented a special security plan targeting the festivals of Dashain, Tihar, and Chhath in the Capital, deploying over 6,000 personnel.

Primarily, 16 locations will see security teams led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), with each team consisting of 10 personnel. 

A total of 38 teams in plain clothes will be mobilised for information gathering, while 22 teams will be deployed for sealing, searching, and monitoring. Additionally, 22 more teams will be positioned for ambushing and surveillance checks. 

Furthermore, drones will be used to monitor crowded areas. Key bus stations, ticket counters, ATM booths, jewelry shops, goat markets, temples, and busy marketplaces will also be under strict surveillance as part of the security plan, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shekhar Khanal said while talking to The Rising Nepal.

SSP Khanal said, “Although the Gen-Z movement damaged our police buildings and hundreds of vehicles were set ablaze, we will not allow any shortcomings in this year’s festival-targeted security plan.”

He said that they will intensify security at places where public vehicles departs from Kathmandu like New Bus Park, Koteshwar, Lagankhel, Kalanki and others, and at areas involved in significant economic activities. Similarly, police help desk establishment works are ongoing and while some of the police units have already established, he said. 

The plan aims to secure local residents, economic zones, unoccupied homes, government offices, and bustling markets, said SSP Khanal.

Anticipating potential incidents of robbery at banks and financial institutions and crowd-related issues at shops, additional police will be deployed in such locations, he added.

SSP Khanal further stated that around 6,106 police officers will be deployed during the festivals 

in the Valley. 

The plan ensures that police will reach any incident site within five minutes and take control of the situation within 30 minutes.

The police have also deployed 76 Quick Response Teams (QRTs) to reach sites of incidents swiftly. Each QRT will have cameras to monitor activities, and these will be supervised from 

a control room.

Additionally, 24 mobile patrol teams will operate during the festival period. Long-route patrols will be conducted for three days, while short-route patrols will operate for a day 

to maintain security.

Sniffer dogs, necessary surveillance tool and plain clothe police personnel will also guard the Valley to make the festival peaceful and crime-free, claimed SSP Khanal. According to him, the security plan will work until Chhath 

festival (October 27).