MARGAO
Thousands of people joined the Julus (procession) taken out by the Muslim community in the commercial capital on the occasion of Eid-e-Milad-Un-Nabi on Wednesday noon as the Goa police maintained a close vigil, leaving nothing to chance after the recent clashes at the Gogol Housing Board and last night’s flare up at the communally sensitive Rumdamol Housing board.
The Goa police threw a massive security cover in the city as well as the Gogol and Rumdamol Housing Boards on Wednesday as a precautionary measure. That the district administration meant business was evident from the fact that District Collector Dr Tariq Thomas, district police chief SP Arvind Gawas, Additional Collector Agnelo Fernandes, Deputy Collector Uday Prabhudesai, DySP Raju Raut Desai and Margao PI Kapil Nayak were seen camping at the Jamia Masjid road junction since noon as a precautionary measure.
The high-ranking officials left the junction only after the last float from the Masjid crossed the road and headed to the Ravindra Bhavan via Pajifond-Hospicio road at around 4 pm. DIG Paramaditya and other officials from the police headquarters had also come down to the city to oversee the security arrangements during the procession.
While the procession was not allowed along the traditional Margao Municipal Council garden route from the traffic point of view, traffic snarls were witnessed on the Aquem-City road, Pajifond and other roads.
Before the commencement of the Julus, an anti-sabotage check was conducted by the bomb disposal squad of the vehicles participating in the floats. RTO officials also inspected the vehicles to ascertain their certification for plying on the roads.
While the procession started at around 3.15 pm, around 15 minutes behind schedule, it took 45 minutes for the floats to move out from the Jamia Masjid, with the police top brass personally taking decisions on regulating the procession in between to keep traffic snarls along the Aquem-city road at bay.
Around 17 floats were expected to participate in the procession. Though permissions were issued for around 17 vehicles, the number of vehicles participating in the procession was pegged at over 28.
Volunteers assisted the men-in-uniform to regulate traffic, though congestion was noticed at a number of places along the route. As a precautionary measure, the authorities had deployed around 550 policemen all along the procession route only for the ‘bandobast’ especially at the road junctions.
Even as the district administration heaved a sigh of relief as the procession passed off smoothly without any problem, the police beefed up security at the Gogol and Rumdamol Housing Boards till late Wednesday as a precautionary measure. While Fatorda PI Navlesh Desai was camping at the Gogol Housing Board with a platoon of IRB, his Maina-Curtorim counterpart, PI Pravin Kumar Vast maintain vigil till evening with the help of another platoon.
