PESHAWAR: As thousands of people go shopping ahead of Eidul Fitr, the police have made strict security arrangements for bazaars in the provincial capital.

However, they say there is no security threat to public places before and during the festival.

A local police official told Dawn on Tuesday that at least 160 major and minor bazaars in the city had been identified for deployment of policemen during the last days of Ramazan and on Eidul Fitr.

He said 20 police personnel had already been deployed in each of those bazaars for the security of buildings, shopkeepers and shoppers.

The of ficial said among the policemen deployed in bazaars were three women as well as three to five plainclothesmen tasked with helping other law-enforcement personnel and monitoring visitors.

He said sniffer dogs were also being used to ensure security across the city.

The official said personnel of Quick Response Force, Emergency Response Force, Rider Squad and local police were on standby.

He said the relatively peaceful situation prevailed in the city.

The official said the considerable decline in major terrorist incidents had led to a large number of people stepping out for Eid shopping in cantonment and city areas till late night.

He said the mounted policemen would patrol Saddar Road in cantonment area in the afternoon. The official said security plan for Eid was being finalised.

When contacted, Peshawar Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Mian Saeed said around 1,000 police personnel had been deployed in five main bazaars of the city for the security of shopkeepers and shoppers.

He said the police had set up helpdesks in major bazaars to help people in case children went missing, shopkeepers overcharged them and they faced other issues.

Dr Mian Saeed said thepolice had deployed mobile vigilance squad and camera mounted vehicles in bazaars to monitor security situation round the clock.

`We`ve deployed personnel of BDU and K-9 units in bazaars to enhance security, while walkthrough gates have also been installed,` he said.

The SSP said the city`s entry and exit points had been curtailed to ensure security, while additional police personnel were being deployed to monitor vehicles.

He said the police had so far received no security threat related to public places during Ramazan and on Eidul Fitr.