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High security at Kotla on eve of final one-dayer
The Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday turned into a virtual fortress with thousands of policemen.
Ferozeshah Kotla ground, venue of Sunday's sixth and last Indo-Pak cricket one-dayer to be watched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, was on Saturday turned into a virtual fortress with thousands of policemen taking positions.
Snipers and commandos from Delhi Police, NSG and ITBP have been deployed at vantage positions in and around the ground and all entrances to it have been sealed.
Security personnel have sanitised the cricket ground and anti-sabotage checks are being conducted continuously at the ground which has been readied for the high-profile match to be watched by many other VVIPs besides Singh and Musharraf.
Security personnel have also been deployed along the route upto the ground with sharp-shooters taking positions on rooftops of buildings flanking the road.
Taj Hotel, where Musharraf will stay along with his entourage, has also been fortified with deployment of hordes of security personnel, including those in plain clothes, swarming the premises.
The ninth floor of the building, where Musharraf and his delegation will stay, has been made out of bounds.
Squads of sniffer dogs were making frequent rounds at both the venues several times to leave nothing to chance.
A helipad has been constructed at the Ambedkar Stadium, adjacent to the Kotla, where two helicopters would be kept ready to evacuate the dignitaries in case of any emergency.
Barricades have been set up along the route to Kotla and Taj Hotel, and intensified patrolling by Police Control Room (PCR) vehicles is being undertaken around these places.
As part of heightened security for the high profile one-dayer, spectators would not be allowed to carry any objects inside the stadium during the match.
"Spectators will not be permitted to carry anything inside the stadium including binoculars, transistors, cell phones, cameras, hand bags, water bottles, or any other container," a Delhi Police spokesman said.
"This is being done for the convenience and security of spectators," he said.
Police advised the spectators to reach the Stadium early and gain entry well before 8.00 am, an hour before the scheduled start of play.
People were also asked to be watchful about unattended objects and persons arousing suspicion by their action and behaviour even outside the stadium, particularly at the parking sites.
