Stories
One Mandal One Constable Scheme Ensures Smooth Ganesh Festival In Maharashtra
- •The One Mandal One Constable scheme deployed thousands of police constables to coordinate directly with over 80000 public Ganesh mandals across Maharashtra.
- •Conceived by ADGP Nikhil Gupta, the initiative aimed to build trust by connecting individual police officers with mandal office-bearers through daily visits and WhatsApp groups.
- •The strong coordination helped resolve potential conflicts early, significantly reduced noise pollution by curbing loud equipment, and shortened immersion procession times.
- •Many mandals redirected their celebration budgets toward social causes, resulting in the purchase of an ambulance, the planting of trees, blood donation drives, and helmet distributions.
- •In Roha, joint meetings organized by local police fostered communal harmony, leading Muslim residents to serve snacks and water to devotees passing the Jama Masjid.
Key Questions Answered
The 'One Mandal, One Constable' scheme is a community-focused initiative where every public Ganesh mandal is assigned a police constable as a coordinator to build personal relationships, handle permissions, manage crowds, and resolve issues before they escalate.
Rather than spending budgets on processions, DJs, or laser lights, many mandals redirected their funds toward public welfare initiatives, such as purchasing an ambulance, planting thousands of tree saplings, organizing blood donation drives, and distributing helmets.
Solapur Rural police ran a successful campaign against DJs and lasers, resulting in the vast majority of mandals completing immersions without them. Meanwhile, regular coordination in Kolhapur shortened immersion processions, ending them seven to eight hours earlier than in previous years.
