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Even though the Home Secretary G.K. Pillai has announced that the Commonwealth Games do not face any threat, he has added that India has to keep itself prepared always. He was addressing the heads of missions of 71 countries in New Delhi on Wednesday
A meeting will be held by the Home Secretary with the security liaison officers of the participating nations of Commonwealth Games on Sep 23, after which more technical details will be disclosed.
"There is no specific threat to Commonwealth Games," Pillai told reporters here.
About 8,000 athletes from 71 countries will be participating in the Commonwealth Games, scheduled to kick off in October 2010, which will have more than 100,000 visitors. There will be about 30,000 volunteers for guiding the visitors. The total city infrastructure investment has been estimated at $2 billion.
Pillai has admitted that heads of missions have been assured completely about the security aspects, which will be provided by India, while the Commonwealth games is in progress.
"We have to keep them in confidence, so that their comfort level is good," he said. He has added that an incident similar to withdrawing of England from the World Badminton Championship should not be repeated. He has also mentioned that the data pertaining to the any threats will be collected and solved immediately, as all the intelligence agencies of different nations are constantly probing into the same.
In October, the general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation will be held, which will be attended by Prince Edward and 245 other observers.
"We told them that we will be handling 60 million people from January to April for the Kumbh Mela. So handling about 100,000 visitors will not be difficult for us," said Pillai.
The outlines of the various arrangements, right from the special Air India flights, were outlined by the Home Secretary. He also mentioned that the accreditation card, which will be issued by Commonwealth games committee, will be used by the participating athletes as visas. This has been informed to Indian missions, airports and immigration authorities
"Those who have the accreditation card do not need a separate visa," he said. He also added that the new international Delhi airport will be functional by April 2010. This airport, flaunted as the second largest in the world, has the capacity for accommodating 30,000 passengers.
He has also added that the airport-venue routes have been mapped under three-tier security surveillance, according to which all the vehicles which are used for transportation by the athletes will carry a security seal. Air surveillance of the games village and the venues of the games will be conducted by helicopters.
When asked if the athletes may face Lahore-type attacks, Pillai said: "We have taken that scenario into account". He also added that the venues will sealed one week before the games kick off.
He has also revealed that the security measures will undergo test runs in some of the venues during April 2010 and June 2010.
There will also be 2,000 close circuit television cameras (CCTV) in operation on Delhi roads, besides those inside the games venues.
"Delhi Police control room will be world class, with 30-40 large video screens monitoring all venues from the airport to the games village," said Pillai.
The Queen's Baton relay will be flagged off from Buckingham Palace Oct 29, when the torch is handed over to President Pratibha Patil. After travelling through other Commonwealth nations, it will reach India through the Wagah Border June 25.
Within the country, the torch will travel through all states and union territories through a 100-day national tour.
