Securing Delhi: The capital plan

Every road in the Capital has police officers and commandos standing guard at intervals of 300 to 400 metres. “I have not seen so much security on either Independence or Republic Day,Holi,Diwali and even during riots. Normally,if something happens in the Capital,only that area sees increased security. But now,police personnel and commandos have been deployed on arterial roads,highways and even outskirts,” remarked Mahabir Singh,a resident of Outer Delhi.

Commercial vehicles,vendors and paanwalas have been taken off from several localities,and tenant as well as servant verification is being done to a massive extent at all the 140 police stations in Delhi. All property dealers,cyber cafes and hotels are being cleared for security. When contacted,Delhi Police PRO Rajan Bhagat claimed,“This (CWG) is a mega event. We have made elaborate and foolproof security arrangements. Every area in Delhi is secure.”

Restrictions on the CWG traffic lanes have already come into force and people are now avoiding them. Traffic police personnel have been posted on all roads leading to Games venues as well as the Village. While the local police are busy checking people,resident welfare associations have been asked to keep an eye out for suspicious activities.

RPF and Delhi Police personnel have provided bus terminals,IGI airport and railway stations with a security blanket,and more than 6,000 officers have been deployed to keep guard over the Metro. Apart from making security arrangement,the Delhi administration has also taken corrective measures like fixing broken street lights. Consequently,less accidents occur during the night now. “The roads look more clean because there are no Bluelines or tempos. Rickshaws have also become less of an irritant now,” claimed Rahul Verma,a software engineer.