Unprecedented security measures to exceed that of I-Day, R-Day arrangements

In light of the three-day World Culture Festival scheduled to start from March 11, the security arrangements made by the Delhi Police are much “larger in scale” in comparison to the Republic Day arrangements made by the police this year.

According to a senior police official who is closely monitoring the arrangements, the process of installing CCTV cameras has been initiated to monitor the movement of visitors not only at the entry and exit points but also in the parking lot to keep a vigil on the people who enter the venue. Apart from door metal detectors and frisking devices which will be used to avert entry of any suspicious person inside the venue, the cops have secured the entire area with Eagle Commando vans.

Talking about the challenges that the cops will face, there is one point which is giving sleepless nights to the police officials. “The entire venue is spread across 1,000 acres. Manning this kind of an area is an absolutely difficult task. Further, the stage is located at such a point that we not only have to make arrangements at the entry and exit points but also install CCTV cameras at crucial points near the stage to keep a tab on the movement of people who try to reach near the stage,” said a senior police official requesting anonymity.

“Since this event will witness artists from countries across the world, the security of the visitors, performers who will throng the Art of Living festival is paramount. On occasions like Republic Day and Independence Day, we work round-the-clock to ensure security. However, the arrangements which we have made are much larger in scale due to the terror threats and the fact that the Prime Minister himself will attend the festival,” said the officer.

Denying the allegations that the influx of people will be 35 lakhs, the senior officer said: “On any given day, the influx of visitors will be high yet exact figures cannot be given at this time.”