Games venues’ security lockdown delayed

NEW DELHI - Security agencies could not complete the lockdown of all the Commonwealth Games venues and the Games Village Saturday midnight as work was still in progress at some of the sites, police said Sunday.

“The work is still on at the Games main venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Games Village and some other venues. We have been told that the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium will be handed over to us by Sunday night and Games Village by Monday,” said a Delhi Police officer.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram had issued a warning Sep 23 to organisers to complete all work at venues by Friday night and hand them over to Delhi Police for the lockdown.

The police had earlier decided on a complete security lockdown a month before the Oct 3-14 event. The lockdown was then planned from Sep 15 but it was extended to Wednesday midnight.

The Delhi Police said that all security measures are in place and roads leading to Games venues and Village have been barricaded. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) had been put in place to keep an eye from the sky on the venues and to guard against any airborne attack.

Four-tier security is now in place at the venues and the Games Village. Only those with authorised passes will be allowed into the restricted areas.

“The outermost layer of security is where we’ll check the passes and verify the identity of an individual. As visitors move in, a separate layer of security will guide them to their specific location,” said a senior police official.

“In the next level of security, one will encounter a stringent check and barcode (imprinted on the entry pass) verification. Baggage scanning and body checks will be performed in the innermost and final layer of security,” said the officer, who did not wish to be named.

Around 85,000 policemen in uniform and plain clothes, and 20,000 paramilitary commandos will be deployed in and around the Games stadia.

After attending a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday, Delhi Police Commissioner Y.S. Dadwal had said: “I assure international athletes that there is fool-proof security for the Commonwealth Games. There is no doubt about it.”

In the past few days, the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee has faced criticism from officials of various countries over the alleged lax attitude of officials involved in preparations for the Games.

Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected to attend the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, India’s biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games.