Over 18,000 police personnel to be deployed for Deepavali in Chennai

The Chennai City Police would be deploying more than 18,000 police officers and personnel as part of elaborate security arrangements for an incident-free Deepavali festival to be celebrated on Sunday (November 8). A senior official of the city police said the Chennai Police Commissioner A. Amalraj, after conducting a review meeting, has directed the senior security officials to prevent theft in crowded places, prepare parking arrangements for the shoppers and deploy adequate police personnel to regulate the crowds in various places of the city. As part of the security plan, special control rooms have been established and extensive security measures have been implemented in shopping areas registering heavy footfall including T. Nagar, Pondy Bazaar, Purasawalkam, NSC Bose Road, MC Road, Koyambedu, and Anna Nagar. Over 18,000 police personnel drawn from the Law and Order, Crime, Traffic, Armed Reserve, Tamil Nadu Special Police, and Home Guard units would be deployed. A team of police officials equipped with binoculars are to be deployed to keep a close watch and prevent criminal activities in 37 locations. In addition, police personnel equipped with 100 body-worn cameras would be on the ground to prevent anti-social activities. The city police has installed four large LED screens in Adyar, Triplicane, and Koyambedu, urging shoppers to beware of criminals operating in the area. A total of 199 police teams armed with Facial Recognition System (FRS) software for repeat offenders, will use mobile phones to screen suspicious individuals in key locations and track them.Police patrol operations have also been initiated using patrol vehicles in T. Nagar, Purasawalkam, Washermanpet, and Parrys. The city police have also advised the residents to follow the guidelines issued by the State Government to burst firecrackers only between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the evening on Deepavali. Published - November 05, 2026 12:08 am IST