Work toughens for Mumbai cops during festival season

Mumbai: With the threat of terrorist attacks looming large during the festival season it's the police who have the hardest time.

Sharad Barde is an inspector with the Mumbai police and he is on duty at the Mahim Dargah.

He has already been at work for six hours and will continue to be here for at least six hours more.

But that doesn't deter Sharad from keeping his eyes peeled to spot any suspicious activity.

After the blast at the Ajmer Dargah and both Eid and Navratri celebrations on in the city, Sharad's job is more taxing than ever. But he says it's all in the game.

“To give security to people is our duty. Where there is trouble then courage comes to us naturally,” says Barde.

After the Mumbai train blasts last year and the series of terrorist attacks on religious sites following that, Sharad and his colleagues have been on high alert for the last 15 months.

With terrorist groups looking to hit where it hurts the most, religious locations during festivals become prime targets keeping the police on their toes.

"They work for 12 hours and then travel four hours to get home,” says JCP, K L Prasad

Some of the main locations in Mumbai that have heavy security arrangements are the Mahim Dargah, Haji Ali Dargah, the Dargah at Bandra, the Siddhivinayak temple, the Babulnath temple, Mahalaxmi temple and the Hari Masjid.