ecurity in south Mumbai is being tightened for the April 2 World Cup final to such a level that it is beginning to rival the security given to US President Barack Obama who visited Mumbai last year. Around 10,000 policemen would be deployed in and around the Wankhede Stadium.
According to Mumbai police officials, they have given a presentation to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday asking the government to declare a public holiday on April 2. Top Mumbai police officials said that it would serve three purposes.
"With the state assembly session going on, we have deployed a huge number of our policemen for security at the State Assembly. If a public holiday is declared, we can deploy these policemen in and around the Wankhede. The other major benefit of declaring a public holiday is that only crowd on that day would be the ones who will come to see the match, which would make crowd and traffic control a lot easier," said a top police official. He added that since South Mumbai is a business district, it sees a huge number of people coming in daily for work purposes.
Mumbai police officials have also asked the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC), to have a 'no fly zone' over the Wankhede Stadium not just for the duration of the match but for the entire day.
The 'no fly zone' request to the ATC comes after intelligence reports that terrorists have undergone training to launch an aerial attack. It remains to be seen whether the ATC allows the same. Mumbai police officials however claim that they are 'expecting a favourable response soon'.
There is more. The cops have also decided to have an 'anti sabotage zone' of around 1.5 km around the Wankhede. It means only a resident of the area, a fan with a valid ticket or those covering, officiating or organising the match would be allowed within the zone. Even police men on guard would not be allowed a free access everywhere.
If a police men is stationed at a specific location, he would not be able to move anywhere else besides his location. This is because police officials do not want anyone to impersonate the men in khakhi.
"With so many policemen around, someone could try to sneak in by wearing a police uniform which is why all policemen deployed will be given a specific location to guard and if they want to go anywhere else, it won't be possible as other cops have been asked to stop anyone who is there without authorisation," said a police officer.
Parking of any outside vehicles in this zone will not be allowed, elaborate check points have been made at different places to check vehicles before letting them in. Not surprisingly, many residents who live near the stadium are exasperated with the security measures.
The National Security Guard (NSG) which has been stationed in Mumbai after the 2008 terror attacks have been kept on stand-by. The NSG and the state's own Force One commandos will be stationed near the Wankhede Stadium. The coast guard and the navy have been told to look out for any suspicious activity.
courtesy - ind t.day
According to Mumbai police officials, they have given a presentation to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday asking the government to declare a public holiday on April 2. Top Mumbai police officials said that it would serve three purposes.
"With the state assembly session going on, we have deployed a huge number of our policemen for security at the State Assembly. If a public holiday is declared, we can deploy these policemen in and around the Wankhede. The other major benefit of declaring a public holiday is that only crowd on that day would be the ones who will come to see the match, which would make crowd and traffic control a lot easier," said a top police official. He added that since South Mumbai is a business district, it sees a huge number of people coming in daily for work purposes.
Mumbai police officials have also asked the Mumbai Air Traffic Control (ATC), to have a 'no fly zone' over the Wankhede Stadium not just for the duration of the match but for the entire day.
The 'no fly zone' request to the ATC comes after intelligence reports that terrorists have undergone training to launch an aerial attack. It remains to be seen whether the ATC allows the same. Mumbai police officials however claim that they are 'expecting a favourable response soon'.
There is more. The cops have also decided to have an 'anti sabotage zone' of around 1.5 km around the Wankhede. It means only a resident of the area, a fan with a valid ticket or those covering, officiating or organising the match would be allowed within the zone. Even police men on guard would not be allowed a free access everywhere.
If a police men is stationed at a specific location, he would not be able to move anywhere else besides his location. This is because police officials do not want anyone to impersonate the men in khakhi.
"With so many policemen around, someone could try to sneak in by wearing a police uniform which is why all policemen deployed will be given a specific location to guard and if they want to go anywhere else, it won't be possible as other cops have been asked to stop anyone who is there without authorisation," said a police officer.
Parking of any outside vehicles in this zone will not be allowed, elaborate check points have been made at different places to check vehicles before letting them in. Not surprisingly, many residents who live near the stadium are exasperated with the security measures.
The National Security Guard (NSG) which has been stationed in Mumbai after the 2008 terror attacks have been kept on stand-by. The NSG and the state's own Force One commandos will be stationed near the Wankhede Stadium. The coast guard and the navy have been told to look out for any suspicious activity.
courtesy - ind t.day
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