VARANASI: Additional Director General Naveen Arora directed police to identify accident hotspots, strengthen the search for missing children and prepare safety arrangements at Chhath ghats during a crime review on Saturday, November 7, 2026. The meeting at the Varanasi zone office in Nadesar affects preparations for busy public places, roads and riverside gatherings across the zone.
For Varanasi residents, the practical points concern safer access to festival venues and clear ways to seek assistance. Police were told to coordinate lighting, announcements, barricades and divers at ponds and river ghats used for Chhath. Families should follow arrangements at their chosen location and give a precise landmark when reporting an emergency.
The review also called for more effective foot patrols and action on pending investigations. The instructions cover several policing responsibilities together: reducing deaths on roads, finding missing people, managing festival crowds and checking the quality of local police information.
What the November 7 review directed
The Varanasi zone police's official account of the meeting sets out a road safety objective of reducing fatalities. Arora instructed officers to identify locations where fatal accidents could occur and prepare action plans for them. Traffic management, action against encroachment and public awareness were among the measures listed.
The post treats accident prevention and traffic congestion as connected priorities for review. The direction to identify hotspots requires attention to particular locations, alongside broader traffic management. It does not provide a street list or a timetable for a specific road restriction in Varanasi.
Arora also asked officers to make walking patrols effective in practice. His instructions covered regular patrols for crime prevention and additional presence at crowded places during the festival period. Police were told to identify people causing disorder and act against them, while coordinating with other administrative departments on the arrangements.
The festivals named in the review were Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Dala Chhath and Dev Deepawali. The instruction is therefore a preparation framework covering several gatherings. Residents should use the directions issued for the particular location and occasion they are attending when deciding how to enter or leave.
Ghats, missing children and investigations
For Chhath, the official post specifically calls for CCTV cameras, adequate illumination, an announcement system, barricading, divers and diversions near ghats. These measures are to be planned with other departments. The direction covers ponds as well as riverbanks, making the arrangements relevant beyond the main Ganga riverfront.
The review separately directed a special search and recovery campaign, Operation Talash, for abducted and missing people. Missing children and their recovery were among the principal subjects examined. The announcement concerns a search effort and review of police work; it supplies no new city total of missing children or recoveries.
Pending investigations were another part of the meeting. Officers were instructed to hold regular review sessions so that investigations are completed with attention to quality. The official account also calls for the arrest of wanted people and those carrying announced rewards, and reviews efforts against organised crime.
Preparations for the forthcoming assembly election were discussed as well. Police were told to begin identifying critical and vulnerable polling booths and verify people with criminal records through local officers and beat personnel. These are directions for preparatory police work, rather than an announcement of an election date.
The official attendance list includes the range police leadership from Varanasi, Mirzapur and Azamgarh. Senior police superintendents from Jaunpur and Azamgarh and superintendents from Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi, Ballia and Mau also attended. This explains the review's zone-wide scope while locating the meeting itself in Varanasi.
What residents should do
The district administration's helpline directory lists 112 for police assistance, 1098 for the child helpline and 108 for the Uttar Pradesh ambulance service. Use the service relevant to the situation, and describe where help is needed using a nearby road, crossing, pond or ghat entrance.
Parents can also act on the state police's standing family safety guidance. It advises parents to know their children's whereabouts and teach them their full name, address and contact details. Children should be able to recognise police personnel and know they can approach an officer if lost or frightened.
Before setting out, agree where family members will meet if separated and keep the day's destination clear. At a managed gathering, follow the local announcements and the instructions of personnel on duty. The review's direction to provide barricades and announcement systems makes those on-site instructions particularly relevant to movement around a ghat.
For separate local background, see the earlier reports on Annapurna crowd movement, festival traffic staffing and parking and footpath checks. The November 7 zone meeting adds its own directions on accident hotspots, searches and ghat preparations.
