The start of Republic Day celebrations in the city may be shrouded in moderate fog on Thursday morning, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast. A partly cloudy sky with temperatures between 9 and 19 degrees Celsius is expected. “Moderate fog is likely in the city on Thursday morning. Cloudy conditions will prevail during the day,” the forecast said. Moderate fog is recorded when visibility is between 201 and 500 metres. Parts of the city saw a light drizzle on Wednesday evening, with the minimum temperature recorded as 10.6 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal, and the maximum as 19.3 degrees Celsius, two degrees below normal. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police said they have made elaborate security and traffic arrangements for the Republic Day parade and functions at Red Fort, Vijay Chowk, India Gate and other VIP areas. As per senior police officers, more than 60,000 people are expected to attend the parade, which will start from Vijay Chowk at 10.30 am and will proceed towards the Red Fort ground area. At India Gate, the celebrations will start at 9.30 am. DCP (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said, “We will also allow QR-based entry for the Republic Day parade. The code will be on all the invitations. More than 7,000 police personnel and paramilitary forces will be on the ground. We have also set up 24 help desks at rush points for easy entry of visitors.” The police installed 150 CCTV cameras in the New Delhi district; few cameras have facial recognition systems for layered security. Anti-terror measures, spotters and NSG teams have been deployed in the area, said police. Police said there would be no traffic movement on Kartavya Path from Vijay Chowk to India Gate from Wednesday 6 pm until the parade concludes on Thursday.
