CWG: Z+ security, 1,600 CCTVs to watch Delhi

Agencies

New Delhi, 30 September 2010: Gun toting policemen and tight CCTV surveillance and every few hundred meters at every nook and corner of the National Capital. This is what Delhi will look like till the Commonwealth Games (CWG) is over.

 

More than 1 lakh security personnel have been deployed to secure the city ahead of the Games. Out of the 13,000 paramilitary personnel that have been pressed into service, approximately 4,000 are going to be deployed for city policing alone.

 

While five star hotels and venues are under a tight security cover, prominent market places are also under strict vigil. Armed policemen can be seen almost everywhere, in addition to PCR vans and the quick reaction teams. Checks and patrolling have also been increased in crowded areas like Janpath, in Delhi.

 

"There are lot of policemen, who come along with the dog squads, " a shopkeeper Md Shakeel. But there are huge concerns over while a total of 1,600 CCTV cameras spread across the Games venues and hotels have been connected to the centralised control room - the rugby stadium has still not yet been connected due to delays in construction.

 

 

Meanwhile, what is worrying the Home Ministry the most is the issue of accreditation. Details of more than one lakh people, who have been handed over passes by the Organising Committe (OC) are yet to be completely handed over to the Delhi Police. Sources say the testing and functioning of several security gadgets have been seriously delayed.

 

All accreditation data has to be loaded onto the security data network available to the Delhi Police. "I am satisfied with the security arrangements, but I am not yet satisfied with what other’s have not done, that has put extra burden on us, " said Home Minister P Chidambaram.

 

In fact, the OC has been facing flak from the Home Ministry because of this for weeks now and in a review meeting held on Tuesday, the Home Minister asked the Delhi Police to sort out the matter immediately. What is worrying is that these are issues that should have been ironed out months ago and not three days before the Commonwealth Games.