No specific threat to CWG, but India prepared: Home secretary

NEW DELHI - There is no specific threat to the Commonwealth Games to be held here in 2010, but it is a massive security undertaking that India is prepared to handle, Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told the heads of missions of 71 countries here Wednesday.

Pillai briefed the heads of missions of countries participating in the games next year. This will be followed by a meeting with the security liaison officers of various countries Sep 23, when more technical details will be provided.

There is no specific threat to Commonwealth game, Pillai told reporters here.

The Commonwealth Games will be a massive undertaking, with the participation of 8,000 athletes from 71 countries. Another 100,000 visitors are expected to be in the city for the event in October 2010. Besides, there will be 30,000 volunteers guiding visitors to the games. The total city infrastructure investment has been estimated at $2 billion.

Pillai said the heads of missions were assured of the capacity of the Indian security establishment to provide all types of security.

We have to keep them in confidence, so that their comfort level is good, he said.

He noted that an event like England withdrawing from the World Badminton Championship due to a terror scare should not be allowed to occur again. He said intelligence agencies of various countries were in touch to give inputs on threat levels to the international event.

In October, the general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation will be held, which will be attended by Prince Edward and 245 other observers.

We told them that we will be handling 60 million people from January to April for the Kumbh Mela. So handling about 100,000 visitors will not be difficult for us, said Pillai.

The home ministry’s top bureaucrat provided an outline of the arrangements, starting with the special chartered flights by Air India to countries with large contingents.

Instructions have already been sent to Indian missions, airports and immigration authorities that the accreditation card to be issued by the games committee will be treated as a visa.

Those who have the accreditation card do not need a separate visa, he said.

By April 2010, there will be a new international airport in Delhi, which will be the second largest in the world and be able to handle 30,000 passengers, Pillai said.

The route from the airport to the venues will be also be under three-tier security surveillance with measures like security seals on all vehicles to prevent any possibility of car bombs.

Helicopters will be hovering in the sky for air surveillance throughout the games.

Asked if the security officials have looked into how to react to a Lahore-type attack on athletes, Pillai said: “We have taken that scenario into account”. All venues will be sealed seven days before the games, he added.

There will be test runs of the security apparatus at certain venues during April and June 2010.

There will also be 2,000 close circuit television cameras (CCTV) in operation on Delhi roads, besides those inside the games venues.

“Delhi Police control room will be world class, with 30-40 large video screens monitoring all venues from the airport to the games village,” said Pillai.

Besides the actual event, the Queen’s Baton relay will be flagged off from Buckingham Palace Oct 29, when the torch is handed over to President Pratibha Patil. After travelling through other Commonwealth nations, it will reach India through the Wagah Border June 25.

Within the country, the torch will travel through all states and union territories through a 100-day national tour.