Security at Assembly to be strengthened

Kolkata: The Bengal Legislative Assembly has decided to further strengthen its security following the incident of two intruders shouting slogans and setting off coloured smoke inside the Parliament on Wednesday.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who attended her office at Nabanna is also learnt to have directed senior police officials to further strengthen security of the state secretariat.

Each of the gates of the state Assembly will have a webcam and no one will be allowed to enter without sporting an identity card at the gate — which includes the MLAs, the reporters as well as visitors.

The west gate of the Assembly should be used by the visitors and the entry slip for them will have photographs embedded.

Till date, the visitor’s slips were issued for a day’s duration but from now on such slips will be valid for two hours.

“If any visitor is found inside the premises beyond two hours, he may be questioned and if his/her explanation is found unsatisfactory, he may be handed over to the police,” a senior

official said.

There will be restrictions on entry of multiple persons in the car of the MLAs in the Assembly premises. Apart from the concerned MLA and his/ her driver, the other persons accompanying the MLA will have to use the west gate for entry with details of their identity to be furnished by the

concerned MLA.

The screening of the visitors will also be strengthened.

Speaker Biman Banerjee on Thursday held a meeting on reviewing the security of the Assembly and said that measures are being taken for further augmenting of the surveillance.