New Delhi, Jan 24 (IANS) Over 1,000 NSG snipers along with 44,000 security personnel from Delhi Police and paramilitary forces will be guarding the national capital on Republic Day to ensure a safe visit of US President Barack Obama.
The National Security Guard snipers will maintain a hawk-eye vigil from high-rise buildings within a two-km radius of Rajpath, from where the US president along with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be watching the Republic Day parade.
Police said the remaining 44,000 security personnel -- around 10,000 from the paramilitary forces and 30,000 from Delhi Police -- will be deployed on the streets of the capital starting 5 a.m. Jan 26.
Sources said the central, north and New Delhi districts will be manned by over 20,000 security personnel.
Around 20,000 personnel will be deployed at specific locations from Jan 25, the day Obama arrives in Delhi and the number will almost double Jan 26, Delhi Police said.
Around 15,000 newly-installed CCTV cameras will be used to keep watch in areas where Obama's cavalcade will move as also some other roads and markets.
Rajpath, the three-km stretch which is the main venue of the Republic Day parade, has nearly 160 CCTV cameras. One camera has been installed every 18 metres.
A Delhi Police official, who did not want to be named, said camera footage may be shared with the US Secret Service.
Officials said that as part of heightened security arrangements, the no-fly zone for civilian aircraft will extend to a 500-km radius of Delhi Jan 26 and will cover cities such as Agra and Jaipur, and even areas along the border with Pakistan.
The radius of the no-fly zone for earlier Republic Day functions used to be 300 km, they said.
A seven-layer security ring will guard the enclosure that would be used by Obama, Mukherjee and Modi.
The enclosure will be bullet-proof as the US president will be in an open air setting for over one-and-a-half hours, something unprecedented in his visit to a foreign country, officials said.
Before Obama's plane lands Jan 25 at the Delhi airport, the area will be taken over by Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel and US Secret Service agents.
India Gate and Rajpath have already been shut for people and the area is under constant guard by security personnel.
The airspace over the capital will be monitored by special radars, they added.
Security arrangements at ITC Maurya, where Obama will be staying during his three-day visit, are being monitored on a daily basis.
Delhi Metro Friday said services would be partially curtailed Jan 26 as part of security arrangements for Republic Day. It said all Delhi Metro parking lots will remain closed from 6 a.m. Jan 25 until 2 p.m. Jan 26.
Entry and exit at the Central Secretariat and Udyog Bhawan Metro stations will remain closed from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m Jan 26, while the entry and exit at Patel Chowk and Race Course stations will be closed from 8.45 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Mandi House and Pragati Maidan stations will also be closed for people for one hour between 10.45 a.m. and 11.45 a.m., a Delhi Metro official said.
JPC: 'Information about Waqf property will have to be given on the website within six months', the bill was accepted with these changes
Among the 14 amendments accepted by the Joint Committee (JPC) of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, the Bill makes it mandatory for every waqf property registered under the existing law to
Textbook Controversy: Violent masculinity being taught in English book, Child Protection Commission objected
Textbook Controversy: The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has objected to a chapter in the NCERT's Class IX English textbook. The commission has asked NCERT to remove or amend
Vic-Kat's plan for marriage: To avoid media and crowd, will go by helicopter to the wedding venue, no entry to the guest without vaccination
Only 4 days are left for Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal's wedding ceremony to begin. But the couple is still silent. Now this news has come out that to avoid media and paparazzi, Vicky and Kat will go
29 students were found infected on the second day at IIT Roorkee; Scientists said - can only prevent this speed of corona from vaccination
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee continues to meet Corona patients. On the second day also, 29 students living in the hostels of the institute were found to be Corona positive. So far,
Modi said- people will get cheaper and faster internet service from 2300 km network; 10 thousand crore rupees port proposed in Great Nicobar
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a submarine optical fiber cable connecting Chennai and Port Blair on Monday. Modi said that through this network, people of Andaman and Nicobar will get cheap
MGNREGA employees' stir in Tripura hits job scheme
Agartala, March 14 (IANS) Over 2,700 employees engaged in MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme continued their strike for the sixth day on Saturday affecting its
Pageantry marks Republic Day in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Jan 26 (IANS) Pomp and pageantry marked the 66th Republic Day celebrations across Karnataka Monday, with state Governor Vajubhai Vala unfurling the tricolour and watching the impressive
Shares of Mukesh Ambani and Adani Group firms shine in lockdown too
Eight leading business houses have emerged as new Corona warriors for the stock market. All companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange accounted for 23 per cent of the total market capitalization
Silver Lake buys 1% stake in Jio Platforms for Rs 5655.75 crore
US private equity company Silver Lake Partners has bought a one per cent stake in Reliance Industries' Jio Platforms. Silver Lake will invest Rs 5,655.75 crore in Jio Platforms.
Sri Lanka's Light Gul: Energy crisis deepens in the country which is financially crippled by a debt trap, 10 hours cut every day
The economic situation in Sri Lanka, which is trapped in the trap of Chinese debt, has already worsened and people are also fascinated by food and drink. Amid a deepening crisis in the country's