Around 3,500 police officers will be deployed to maintain public safety during the Poson festival in the sacred city of Anuradhapura, the Anuradhapura District Poson Committee said, Ada Derana reported.
The committee met on Monday at the auditorium of the Anuradhapura District Secretariat under the leadership of Acting Atamasthanadhipathi Ven. Ethalawatunuwewe Ñāṇathilaka Thero. The District Secretary, security forces personnel and other government officials attended.
Discussions focused on arrangements for the upcoming Poson festival season, with particular attention to security in the sacred city. Officials also said that no “dansal” — the free food and beverage stalls that traditionally line streets during Buddhist festivals — would be permitted to operate without prior approval.
District Secretary Ranjith Wimalasooriya, addressing the gathering, urged devotees visiting the sacred city to act responsibly and avoid causing environmental damage, emphasising the importance of maintaining a clean and eco-friendly environment during the festival period.
Poson, which commemorates the introduction of Buddhism to Sri Lanka by Arahat Mahinda at Mihintale in the third century BCE, brings hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Anuradhapura each June. This year’s preparations follow the registration requirement issued for Vesak and Poson dansal by Public Health Inspectors, and a Colombo traffic plan for Vesak that signalled similarly tight crowd management for the year’s twin Buddhist religious peaks.
