Bengaluru under tight security blanket ahead of PM Modi’s visit
Bengaluru: Bengaluru has been placed under a tight security blanket ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state capital on Friday, with thousands of police personnel deployed and the Special Protection Group (SPG) closely monitoring the arrangements, police said on Thursday.
The city police have put in place extensive security measures along all routes through which the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel.
Three Joint Commissioners of Police, 15 Deputy Commissioners of Police, 20 Assistant Commissioners of Police, 30 Police Inspectors, more than 100 Sub-Inspectors and over 1,000 civil police personnel have been deployed for the high-profile visit.
The SPG team had arrived in Bengaluru around 10 days ago and carried out detailed inspections of all locations connected with the Prime Minister’s programmes.
The security personnel inspected roads, Metro Rail facilities and platforms, besides the venues where Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to participate in various programmes.
Micro-level inspections have been conducted to ensure that there is no room for any security lapse. SPG officers are continuously monitoring the security arrangements and coordinating with the Bengaluru Police.
Additional security personnel have been deployed at high-rise buildings located along the Prime Minister’s travel routes and in areas identified as high-risk zones. Police teams have also conducted inspections at apartments located in these areas as part of the enhanced security exercise.
The police have asked apartment managements to remain vigilant and provide information about any new or unfamiliar persons arriving at their premises.
The SPG has also carried out special security drives and directed the police to maintain heightened vigilance before and during the Prime Minister’s visit.
Meanwhile, CCTV cameras installed along all the routes through which Prime Minister Modi will travel have been inspected and verified. The police have ensured that the surveillance cameras are fully functional as part of the comprehensive security arrangements in the city.
With the Prime Minister’s arrival scheduled for Friday, the Bengaluru police and SPG have stepped up security across the city, leaving no room for any lapse during the high-profile visit.
It can be recalled that Bengaluru City Police Commissioner, Seemanth Kumar Singh, on Wednesday issued prohibitory orders declaring a temporary no-fly zone within a one-kilometre radius of three venues in the city ahead of Prime Minister Modi’s visit on November 13.
The restrictions will be in force from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on November 13 around the R.A. Mandurkar Fire and Emergency Services Training Centre Campus, Helipad-2, on Bannerghatta Road, Tavarekere Metro Station and the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B) Auditorium.
According to the order, the Prime Minister is scheduled to arrive at the R.A. Mandurkar Fire and Emergency Services Training Centre Campus, Helipad-2, from where he will inaugurate the Tavarekere Metro Station. Subsequently, he will participate in a programme at the IIM-B Auditorium.
Later, he will inaugurate ‘Bharat Vana’, a mini forest developed under the ‘Namma Mysuru, Namma Koduge’ initiative at the foot of Chamundi Hill.
He will inaugurate India’s first tilted dome LED planetarium in Mysuru. Built jointly by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Mysore at a cost of ₹118 crore (with some support from Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s MPLAD funds), the 150-to-160-seat facility is designed for both students and tourists.
Following the Bharat Vana programme, he will proceed to the COSMOS event venue for official engagements before heading to the airport to depart for Delhi via an Indian Air Force BBJ aircraft.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in the historic city of Mysuru in the backdrop of the Prime Minister’s visit. The SPG has taken control of the planetarium at the foot of Chamundi Hill today and stepped up security checks ahead of his visit to Mysuru for the inauguration of the Cosmology Education and Research Training Centre (COSMOS) and the Bharat Vana Miyawaki Mini Forest at K.C. Nagar.