500 commandos to watch over Barapullah road

More than 500 commandos will be deployed to guard the newly opened Barapullah elevated road, which will be used by the delegates and athletes to travel from the Games village to Jawaharlal Nehru stadium — the main venue for all the main events, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

More than 500 commandos will be deployed to guard the newly opened Barapullah elevated road, which will be used by the delegates and athletes to travel from the Games village to Jawaharlal Nehru stadium — the main venue for all the main events, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

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For every two buses, a pilot jeep, along with three armed personnel, has been deployed. Around 240 air-conditioned buses have been designated to ferry athletes. Snipers have also been deployed at the four-kilometre-long elevated road.
The entry to the elevated corridor is highly regulated with traffic policemen and armed security personnel patrolling the area.

“We have made arrangements for watchtowers near the elevated road. Armed security personnel would be keeping a watch on the movement of buses from here as the elevated road criss-crosses many residential buildings and areas,” said a senior police official.

These commandos, belonging to various central paramilitary forces, have been also deployed inside the buses.
Following the terrorist attack on a bus carrying Sri Lankan players in Pakistan earlier, the Delhi Police reviewed the entire security procedure and it was decided that special attention would be given to the buses ferrying athletes.
“We have chalked out a security plan, where vulnerable areas were pointed out. The buses were also one of them. To thwart any kind of attack, trained commandos equipped to handle anti-sabotage operations, have been deployed,” said the officer. Earlier, the police had petitioned the Supreme Court to remove speed governors from Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses that would be ferrying the athletes.

The apex court had given a go-ahead, asking the DTC to furnish the details and registration numbers of all the buses that would be used for the purpose.

These buses are parked at a bus depot near Indraprastha Park and are sent to the village on need basis. After reaching the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, they are parked at a designated lot. The parking lots have been sanitised at regular intervals.