Games: 1.5 lakh cops,CCTVs in city; choppers to eye from sky

The diplomats were told that every vehicle meant for athletes would be put through an anti-sabotage test every morning while each of the 23 venues would be completely sanitised seven days ahead of an event,Home Secretary G K Pillai said. Dedicated lanes for vehicles carrying athletes and officials will be created with helicopters keeping an eye on all the venues and routes,it was announced.

“The security arrangements would be foolproof — there should not be any apprehension in anyone’s mind,” Pillai said.

He said besides 80,000 Delhi Police personnel,the government will requisition services of an equal number of cops drawn from the central police organisations and state police forces. Besides the venues,all major locations in Delhi would be brought under the cover of CCTVs,Pillai said.

“We have two major sporting events before the Commonwealth Games — the world hockey championships and the world swimming championships,” he said. “We will make a test run of the entire security arrangements during these two events.”

Security for the Commonwealth Games would also be one of the main points for discussion during the three-day biannual conference of police chiefs of all states scheduled for next week. The Home Secretary said it was important to tighten security across the country,considering that many athletes and visitors were expected to utilise the occasion to travel to important tourist places.

Request: drive sensibly

A diplomat at today’s meeting of the Heads of Missions requested the government to do something about the road habits of Delhiites. He said hardly anyone stuck to lanes in the city and rash driving is not exactly an exception.

The government assured the diplomat that it would initiate an extensive awareness campaign to encourage people to stick to traffic rules and be more accommodative of other vehicles.