Ram temple consecration ceremony: AI-powered CCTV cameras installed in Ayodhya

Lucknow: In a bid to ensure robust security arrangements for the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on January 22, 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire district and multilingual policemen in plain clothes will be deployed at the venue, officials said on Tuesday.

“The ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony, which will be held on January 22, is going to be a historic event. For this, the UP Police has made elaborate security arrangements and along with it, security has been ensured for every road along the entire red zone, yellow zone and Ayodhya district,” Director General (DG), Law and Order, Prashant Kumar, told PTI.

“We have converted all the major roads coming towards Ayodhya into green corridors so that traffic is not disrupted. Heavy traffic has been diverted around Ayodhya since January 18 and a traffic advisory has also been issued in this regard,” he added.

To ensure better security arrangements at the programme venue in Ayodhya, technology is being used on a large scale.

“For this, 10,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the entire Ayodhya district. In some of these CCTV cameras, we are using AI-based technology so that we can maintain a strict vigil on the commuters,” the DG said, adding multilingual police personnel will be deployed in plain clothes at the programme venue and they have been given training in proper soft skills.

The senior police official said the security of Saryu river, which flows in Ayodhya, has also been increased and added the security arrangements will be ensured through use of power boats, the NDRF and SDRF teams, and with local boatmen.

“We are coordinating with other agencies. Checking is going on at the international and inter-state border. Police will use drones for crowd control and for diversion of excess crowd. We will use anti-drone technology at the programme venue so that security arrangements remain in place,” he said.