Ground to air security put in place for I-Day celebrations

New Delhi, Aug 12 (PTI) Thousands of armed security
personnel are being fanned across the national capital to
pre-empt any terrorist strike in the run-up to the
Independence Day celebrations.
An impregnable ground-to-air security apparatus is being
put in place in the city especially near Red Fort from where
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will unfurl the tri-colour and
address the nation on Monday.
Agencies are giving final touches to the security
arrangements at the Red Fort and have zeroed in on 'safety
houses' where the Prime Minister and other leaders would be
taken to in case of a terrorist strike.
This year, the celebrations came a month after terrorists
attacked Mumbai, killing over 20 people.
"All arrangements have been made," Joint Commissioner of
Police (Traffic) Satyendra Garg told reporters here on Friday.
A senior police official said around 40 CCTVs have been
installed, in and around Red Fort to ensure incident-free
celebrations while sharpshooters of the NSG will be deployed
on the high-rise buildings near the 17th century Mughal
monument.
Besides Red Fort, the official said, intense vigil will
be maintained on key installations like Parliament complex,
international airport, railway stations, inter-state bus
terminals and metro stations.
"The localities around Red Fort have been sanitised and
informers have been deployed to keep a check on any movement
of anti-national elements," the official said, adding,
specialised units like Quick Reaction Teams, SWAT and Vajra
are being deployed.
A no-fly zone will be put in place around Red Fort during
the nearly 90-minute function while the airspace would remain
closed for seven hours, from 6 am to 10 am and from 4 pm to 7
pm for the Independence Day celebrations.
Besides patrolling of the skies by helicopters, an air
defence mechanism will also be put in place around the venue
to thwart any terror attacks.
Delhi Police has also intensified checking at all the
border points.
Ahead of the national celebrations, Delhi Police and its
counterparts in neighbouring states have already reviewed the
security scenario in the National Capital Region.
Police officers of the neighbouring districts were
advised to take effective anti-terrorist measures including
launching of intensive drives for verification of tenants,
servants, guest houses, second hand scooter and car dealers,
cyber cafe users, cycle sellers, contract labourers and shops
selling chemicals.
Police has also asked operators of guest houses, cyber
cafes, telephone booths and taxi services to keep a watch on
their customers and report about suspicious people.
Instructions will be issued to the operators to keep a
register of their customers and not to allow them to use their
facilities without proper identification.
While owners of guesthouses and cyber cafes will be
asked to install CCTVs, telephone booth operators will be
instructed to keep a separate register of those making local,
STD and ISD calls.
Owners of guesthouses and hotels will also be asked not
to allow their guests to use hotel address for getting a
mobile connection.