Security net thrown around Games venues

NEW DELHI - Security personnel were out in force Sunday near the Commonwealth Games Village and other venues as the authorities claimed to have put in place a four-tier security net around the areas to be frequented by the athletes.

Thousands of police personnel, along with the paramilitary, were seen outside the venues and on the routes along which the athletes are expected to travel.

“Every person and vehicle is being thoroughly checked before being allowed entry into the Games Village. No one is allowed entry without an accreditation card or a valid pass,” said a senior police official.

Only those with authorised passes are being allowed into restricted areas. Barricades have been installed both at the entry of the Games Village and also on roads leading to the Village.

Boom barriers and cement blocks have also been placed at the entry of the Games venues, the official said.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) were in place to keep an eye from the sky on the venues and to guard against any airborne attack, he said.

Vehicle scanners have also been installed along with underground metal stoppers that spring up to stop a speeding vehicle with just the push of a button, he said.

Along the Games-related routes, quick reaction team (QRT) vehicles have been parked. Each vehicle carries Indo-Tibetan Border Police and Delhi Police commandos, the official said.

With just seven days to go for the sporting event to begin, senior police officers were seen at the entry of the Barapullah flyover which would link the Games village with the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics and wrestling events are scheduled to take place.

Forty percent of Delhi Police personnel, currently posted in various police stations, have been deployed across the city for Commonwealth Games security.

The police stations will work with one inspector, instead of the usual three, during the Oct 3-14 Games, an official said.

Additional forces have been deployed at busy markets, Metro stations, the airport and various tourist destinations, he said.

Delhi traffic police personnel were also present along the routes Sunday exclusively reserved for the Games officials and athletes. Restrictions on movement of other vehicles in these lanes will continue till the Games end.

“These exclusive lanes are near the Games Village,on the National Highway-24, Ring Road up to the Barapullah flyover, 4th Avenue, Lodhi Road, Safdarjung Road, Kamal Ataturk Marg and Panchsheel Marg,” said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police, traffic.

“A traffic motorcycle blowing a siren and traffic staff at intersections will intimate people about the movement of Games-related traffic,” he said.

“At the time of movement, people are expected to give precedence to Games related traffic even on the roads where an exclusive Games lane is not operational at that time,” he said.

Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 teams are expected to attend the Commonwealth Games, India’s biggest sporting event since the 1982 Asian Games.