Robust Security for Bonalu – The Hindu

Hyderabad Police Commissioner Cv Anand, on Friday, Took Part in the Traditional Shikara Puja and Dhwaja Rohanam Ceremonies for Bonalu at the Mahankali Temple at Lal Darwaaza.

The Commissioner said that it was customary for the temple committee to invite the city’s ‘kotwal’, a practice that has continued for over a century, adding that Hyderabad City Police, along with all departments, have put in place robust arrangements to ensure peaceful celebrations.

He recalled that the recent Golconda and Balkampet Bonalu events passed off without any incident, and assured that similar vigilance would be maintained for the Lal Darwaza procession.

Special deployment of police personnel from other zones, including Crime Branch units and She Teams, are in place to prevent pick-pocketing, chain-snatching, and eve-teasing. “Coordination meetings with Water Board, R&B Department, GHMC, and Electricity Department, have already been held,” he said.

Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Konda Surekha took part in the preparatory meetings, and directed officials to ensure seamless execution of arrangements. The Commissioner appealed to temple organisers and devotees to extend full cooperation with the police during the festivities.

Among those present at the puja were GHMC Commissioner R.V. Karnan, DCPs Apoorva Rao, Sneha Mehra, and R. Venkateswarlu, and Temple Committee chairman B. Maruthi Yadav.