25,000 police personnel, AI surveillance to oversee Ganpati immersion in Mumbai

“We are deploying 12 Additional Commissioners of Police, 40 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 61 Assistant Commissioners, 3,000 police officers, and 18,000 police constables across the city to ensure safe immersion,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Satyanarayan Chaudhary.

In addition to the city police, 14 companies of the State Reserve Police Force, four companies of the Central Armed Police Forces, along with Quick Response Teams (QRT), Riot Control Force (RCF), Delta, Combat, and the Maharashtra Security Force will be stationed at key locations.

Surveillance is being enhanced with the help of 10,000 CCTV cameras and over 50 drones deployed to monitor major immersion points. The use of private drones has been prohibited to prevent interference with official operations. Around 400 patrolling vans, 400 beat marshals, and the Anti-Terrorism Cell (ATC) will be on duty throughout the day.

Special focus is being given to crowd control and real-time updates through AI-powered systems. “The AI helps us with footfall analysis — it gives accurate crowd estimates so we can deploy appropriate force. It also improves visibility by monitoring both civilians and deployed personnel. If there are gaps, the system alerts us immediately,” explained an official.

The AI-enabled system will also employ facial recognition technology to identify individuals with criminal records. “The details of criminals across Maharashtra, neighbouring states, and Delhi-NCR have been fed into the system. If any of these individuals are detected, the cameras will immediately alert the police,” the official added.

Joint Commissioner of Police (traffic) Anil Kumbhare detailed further arrangements made in coordination with the BMC: “Four Deputy Commissioners of Police, eight Assistant Commissioners, 60 Police Inspectors, 179 Assistant Police Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors, 2,826 constables, 275 Maharashtra Security Force personnel, and 340 volunteers from Aniruddha Bapu’s NGO will be on duty.”

To manage vehicle movement and assist with breakdowns, 54 cranes will be stationed throughout the city. Additionally, 538 lifeguards will be posted at various immersion sites, and 52 watchtowers have been constructed to monitor crowd and traffic conditions.

Prominent immersion spots such as Girgaon Chowpatty, Dadar, Bandra, Juhu, Versova, Yari Road, Powai, and Madh Marve will have special security provisions. For women’s safety, Nirbhaya squads will patrol key areas. Female officers in both uniform and plainclothes will be deployed.

Further, around 454 Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel will be deployed at busy railway stations such as Dadar, Churchgate, and Wadala to manage crowd flow and assist commuters.

Unsafe rail overbridges

Authorities have flagged 12 railway overbridges — four on the Central and eight on the Western lines — as being in poor condition. Devotees are advised to avoid organizing immersion processions on these bridges.

On Central Railway line

-Ghatkopar railway overbridge
-Curry Road railway overbridge
-Arthur Road railway overbridge (Chinchpokli)
-Byculla railway overbridge

On Western Railway line

-Marine Lines railway overbridge
-Sandhurst Road railway overbridge (between Grant Road and Charni Road)
-French railway overbridge (between Grant Road and Charni Road)
-Kennedy railway overbridge (between Grant Road and Charni Road)
-Falkland railway overbridge (between Grant Road and Mumbai Central)
-Mahalaxmi station railway overbridge
-Prabhadevi–Carroll railway overbridge
-Lokmanya Tilak railway overbridge at Dadar.

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