Police ensure no hiccup in traffic
Kolkata: The arrangements made by Kolkata Police were worthy of appreciation as they ensured smooth movement of traffic on Friday in and around Eden Gardens despite several VIPs and VVIPs making their way towards the stadium during the day for the historic pink ball day/night Test match.
As the city is full of VVIPs like Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina and former cricket players, police have almost turned Eden Gardens into a fortress, leaving no room for security lapses.
According to sources, approximately five thousand police personnel have been deployed in and around the ground, including traffic police. Police personnel in plain clothes have been deployed in the galleries as well, to make sure that no problem occurs during the match.
Special teams will also be there inside the Eden Gardens premises as backup for the police personnel deployed in the galleries.
Police personnel equipped with sniper rifles will keep a strict vigil from several watchtowers and strategic positions inside Eden Gardens. Several senior police officials from the rank of Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt. CP), Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) will be supervising the security arrangements both inside and outside the stadium.
Several Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have been deployed in strategic positions, while Heavy Radio Flying Squad (HRFS) and divisional patrolling cars have been instructed to ply within the area frequently.
Anti Rowdy Squad (ARS) of Detective Department has also been deployed to stop black marketing of match tickets and to prevent any untoward incident.
For smooth movement of traffic, around 700 police personnel have been deployed in and around the ground. Traffic movement on Kingsway, which was suspended on Friday, will resume from Saturday. But during the Test match period, traffic movement may get suspended on the road for a few hours on Saturday.
Apart from police, the state Transport department also extended special services on Friday, which would continue till the match ends. According to Narayan Swarup Nigam, managing director of West Bengal Transport Corporation (WBTC), special bus services have been offered for the spectators.
"50 buses have been arranged apart from regular services. The buses will be parked in Esplanade and in and around Shaheed Minar. Apart from buses, ferry services will also be operational till 10 pm until the five-day match ends," he said.
