ISTANBUL, June 13 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 300,000 security officers, including Coast Guard personnel, will uphold public order across Istanbul province in northwestern Türkiye as the country prepares for the upcoming nine-day Eid al-Adha holiday starting Saturday, Provincial Governor Davut Gul said on Thursday.
"Our utmost priority is to minimize traffic accidents," Gul briefed the press on the government measures being taken during the holiday after inspecting Istanbul's main bus terminal that connects the megacity with all 81 provinces.
He noted that traffic density in and around Istanbul is expected to surge by 50 percent due to the holiday coinciding with the schools' summer holidays.
The population in the Bodrum resort, one of the most popular Turkish tourist destination in the Aegean Region, is expected to increase from nearly 200,000 to one million during the Eid al-Adha holiday.
In anticipation of the expected influx, Bodrum will enhance security by deploying additional police forces, while the municipality will implement a double-shift system for round-the-clock waste management, the Hurriyet Daily reported on Thursday.
Additionally, gendarmerie and police are taking necessary precautions to manage the expected surge in traffic on highways nationwide, the state-run TRT broadcaster reported on Wednesday.
They will be on round-the-clock duty, using drones and cameras to monitor traffic and promptly address disruptions, according to the TRT.
This year's Eid al-Adha holiday has been extended to nine days instead of the traditional four days in Türkiye.
As many Turks prepare to head to holiday resorts or their hometowns, airline and bus companies have ramped up services with additional flights and routes to cope with the increasing demand.
Turkish Airlines, the country's national carrier, announced on Tuesday that it has added 90 additional flights during Eid, with the possibility of increasing this number based on demand throughout the holiday.
The Turkish Bus Federation said that intercity bus tickets for certain days of Eid al-Adha have sold out.
"In response to the high demand, additional routes have been scheduled between June 12-25," Birol Ozcan, the president of the federation, was quoted by the state-run Anadolu agency as saying on June 8. ■
