Tight security for Thevar Jayanthi

MADURAI: The southern districts of the State are under police scanner in  wake of the Thevar Jayanthi celebrations at Pasumpon in Ramanathapuram on Sunday.As part of the elaborate security arrangements, around 6,200 police personnel and 18 Superintendents of Police have been deployed in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga districts. Inspector General of Police (South Zone) Rajesh Das and Deputy Inspector General of Police (Thanjavur Range) V A Ravi Kumar who is on special duty at Pasumpon are supervising the security arrangements.Additional Director General of Police (Law&Order) S George is camping in Madurai and coordinating with various wings of the police. On Saturday, he chaired a review meeting on security for Thevar Jayanthi. The officials from the intelligence wing in Chennai are doing rounds in the nearby villages gathering intelligence inputs on any possible violence. To prevent any protests by the members of Adi Dravidar community who have been aggrieved following the Paramakudi police firing, special vigil is on. The police have gone the extra mile banning traffic on 16 routes that cut through areas thickly populated by Adi Dravidars. “We have banned use of 16 road routes. Also, the villages prone to violence have been identified and several policemen deployed in these areas,” said a senior police officer.