CISF set to take over security of Victoria Memorial

Kolkata: Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) is all set to take over the security of Victoria Memorial (VM) from January 15. As many as 113 jawans will be in charge of the Memorial's security who will be working in shifts for round the clock surveillance at VM.

"We are constructing a barrack for the jawans inside the VM premises for their permanent lodging. We have made temporary arrangements for their stay at Kolkata Port Trust Barrack in Kidderpore area," Jayanta Sengupta, curator of VM said on the sidelines of the launch of e-ticketing system at the Memorial on Sunday.

The Union Home ministry's sanction for replacing the existing three- tier security by the Kolkata Police and private agencies and the Memorial's own security by CISF had arrived in 2015, however, arranging for accommodation of the jawans took much longer time than expected by the VM authorities.

The concern over security at the Victoria Memorial and the Indian Museum (IM) was raised way back in 2004 by environmentalist Subhas Datta, after a Buddha sandstone bust was stolen from the Indian museum. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had taken up the investigation of the case but was unable to make any breakthrough. The matter had gone to the Supreme Court that had prodded the Centre to deploy CISF security at both VM and IM.

Talking about the e-ticketing system, Sengupta said people can purchase tickets six months in advance through a link on the VM website that has been hyperlinked with Bookmyshow portal. Secretary of union ministry of Culture Raghvendra Singh, formally inaugurated the online system by purchasing the first ticket online at the Memorial itself.

Around 35 lakh people including foreigners visit the VM in a year. In winter, the footfall is around 35,000 per day and serpentine queues are a common sight. "The online mode will help save visitors' waiting time in lines for buying tickets," Sengupta said.

It is learnt that on Christmas as many as 44,000 came to the Memorial while on January 1 this year the turnout was 42,000.

Two vending machines (one each) were also launched at the North and South Gate of the Memorial where tickets can be bought by cash or card. However, the machines will not have the option of cashback. Thus, the exact amount should be paid in cash.