Kolkata, Jul 5 (IANS): Taking a lesson from the Hathras stampede, the entire area in and around the iconic Tarakeswar temple in West Bengal's Hooghly district will be wrapped under a blanket security cover ahead of the Shravani Mela.

At a meeting chaired by the Tarakeswar Municipality chairman, Uttam Kundu and attended by senior district-level administrative and police officers, it was decided to increase the security within the temple premises and the roads leading to the temple.

A control room will be opened from where CCTV footage will be constantly monitored and corrective measures will be taken as per the situation. An official of Tarakeswar Municipality said that in the meeting it was decided to increase the number of entry gates to the temple premises.

It has also been decided that additional personnel from the police, fire services and disaster management departments will be deployed during the festive days.

According to Kundu, special parking zones will be allotted for the vehicles entering the town carrying pilgrims. “The municipal authorities will make adequate arrangements for water supply as well as to illuminate the roads leading to the temple premises,” he added. At the same time, separate health centres will be set up in adequate numbers to address any emerging emergency.

This year, the Sravani Mela is slated to start on July 21 and will continue till August 19. Going by the experience of the last few years, said the official, the temple authorities are expecting a crowd of over 10 lakh people during the festive days, with the turnout being maximum on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.