Ahmedabad Police has prepared a citywide Navratri security plan involving 14,000 police personnel and home guards, AI-based cameras, drones, crowd-counting machines and traffic monitoring measures for the festival beginning on Sunday.
The plan covers both organised garba venues and traditional street celebrations across Ahmedabad. Permission procedures are under way for 84 garba organisers, while traditional neighbourhood garba events are expected at about 1,300 locations in the city.
According to the plan reported by Sandesh, around 500 senior and supervisory officers will monitor security arrangements. The group includes sector-level joint commissioners of police, deputy commissioners of police, assistant commissioners of police, police inspectors and police sub-inspectors.
Police will deploy 14,000 personnel and home guards to maintain law and order and support crowd management during the celebrations. AI-based cameras, drones and counting machines have been made mandatory at garba grounds to strengthen surveillance and monitor attendance and crowd movement.
The city will also be watched through approximately 4,000 cameras installed at different locations. The arrangements are intended to help authorities monitor major gathering points and respond to security requirements during the festival.
Traffic management will form a separate part of the deployment. More than 2,000 traffic police personnel will remain on duty until garba events conclude each day. The deployment is aimed at managing vehicle movement around celebration venues and on major routes used by participants and visitors.
More than 20 cranes will operate on the Sardar Patel Ring Road and S.G. Highway to assist with vehicle management, according to the report. These routes are among the key corridors likely to experience pressure as people travel to and from garba venues across the city.
The scale of the plan reflects the operational challenge created by Ahmedabad’s combination of large organised events and dispersed neighbourhood celebrations. While approved venues can be managed through defined entry points and dedicated personnel, street garba events spread security and traffic requirements across a much wider urban area.
The use of cameras, drones and counting machines also places technology at the centre of the city’s festival-management arrangements. The police plan combines surveillance infrastructure with physical deployment, crowd-control measures and traffic enforcement rather than relying on a single layer of security.
Ahmedabad Police’s stated next steps are to complete permission procedures for the 84 organisers and deploy the planned security, surveillance and traffic resources for the duration of Navratri celebrations.
