MSG 2 premieres today, Gurgaon braces for chaos

Residents of the millennium city should brace for traffic jams today. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim will hold a premiere of his upcoming film Messenger of God (MSG) 2 at the Leisure Valley Ground in Sector 29.

Residents of the millennium city should brace for traffic jams today. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim will hold a premiere of his upcoming film Messenger of God (MSG) 2 at the Leisure Valley Ground in Sector 29 and more than a lakh of his followers from across the country are likely to assemble there.

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The premiere of Ram Rahim’s earlier film Messenger of God was also held at the Leisure Valley Ground in January this year. Nearly one lakh followers had converged at the venue on that occasion. The followers had come there not just to watch the movie but also to get a glimpse of their ‘guru’. The event had caused quite a chaos and traffic congestions were witnessed at several places in the city.

On Wednesday, thousands of followers are expected to use two or three-wheelers, cars, trucks and buses to reach the venue. Many from the national capital region may use the metro.

Anticipating a large turnout, the traffic police have made special arrangements for the show.

The police have prepared an elaborate security and traffic plan for the area around the Leisure Valley Ground and at four parking lots. The Gurgaon police have deployed 550 police and 350 traffic personnel across the city to ensure order on the road.

With 12 lakh vehicles plying in the city, Gurgaon roads are already choked. The situation will be worse on Wednesday as Ram Rahim’s followers will start entering the city early morning.

The premiere is supposed to take place in an open theatre. The programme will be four hours long and include a show on the making of the movie. This will be followed by a cultural programme, a press conference and a question-answer session.

At least 12 screens will be installed at the venue. A ticket for the event will cost Rs 175. Special passes will be given to some invitees.

Pawan Insan, media coordinator for Dera Sacha Sauda, said, “The followers will hold a road show in the morning. We have made arrangements for water and food as people will be coming from distant places. The food stalls will be managed by followers.”

The movie is scheduled to be released on September 18 at more than 3,000 screens in four languages including, Telgu and Tamil.

Speaking about the arrangements for the event, assistant commissioner of police (crime) Rajesh Kumar said, “Five ACPs will be deployed on the routes and at the venue. Ten police personnel from each police station will also be sent. There will be security arrangements near the parking areas as well. We have a plan and will make sure that the venue is checked properly.”

Last time, there were problems related to parking and traffic movement, police said. But this time, traffic junctions will be kept signal-free for longer periods and instead of putting in place regulations from 5pm to 8pm, traffic police will make arrangements till 11pm. The event is scheduled to start at 6pm.

Bharti Arora, joint commissioner of police (traffic), said, “We are expecting thousands of followers in Gurgaon and have made elaborate traffic plans to keep the roads congestion-free. Traffic will be regulated and diverted appropriately so that no snarls take place. An ACP-rank officer will be present at all stretches near the Leisure Valley Ground. There will also be teams from each police station. All emergency services will be on alert.”

Police commissioner Navdeep Singh Virk, meanwhile, said the organisers of the event have been requested to avoid use of cars and resort to large transport vehicles such as buses and trucks to ferry followers to avoid traffic jams.