Home Secretary takes stock of CWG security measures

Tue, Aug 24 10 10:23 PM

New Delhi, Aug 24 (PTI) A high-level meeting was today held to take stock of the security measures being put in place for the upcoming Commonwealth Games amidst rising concerns over the delay in construction of Games related venues. The meeting, chaired by Home Secretary G K Pillai, was attended by representatives of all concerned paramilitary forces and of Central security agencies. It was held to keep tab on the security arrangements for the sporting extravaganza scheduled between October 3-14 here. Over one lakh security personnel including those from Delhi police will be deployed for the security of the Games. Government sources said the security agencies are "concerned" about the delay in construction of stadiums and other facilities as it was hampering putting in place a tamper proof security mechanism. They said, in an ideal situation, all the 63 venues to be used for the Games should have been ''locked-down'' by August one for the security agencies to carry out anti-sabotage checks. In a ''lock-down'', the entire venue is completely sanitised by security agencies and is sealed after a thorough check of each room available. The only time when the seals are taken off is when the CWG officials or players enter these areas. "But, because of the delay in construction, the lock-down deadline has been extended. Now it will happen in a phased manner, which means as and when a venue gets completed the lock-down will be done," a source said. Security agencies expect September to be a very busy period as final touches to all security related matters including transportation of officials and players from airport to hotel, the Games village and stadiums will have to be fine tuned. Moreover, integration of CCTV cameras and other software, carrying out anti-cyber security threat drills among others have also to be carried out. Army personnel will be put on standby, whereas, during the Games, Air Force and BSF helicopters would be pressed into service. Sources said Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) teams of the Army will also be deployed during the Games.

Source: Published>