Full security drill in Mumbai today
Unprecedented security measures are expected to be put in place during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India beginning Saturday. An elaborate security drill will be carried out in Mumbai on Thursday involving US secret service agents, officials of Indian security agencies and NSG commandos and snipers. The Mumbai police,
Indian Navy and Indian Air Force personnel will also be participating in the drill which will cover all the routes and destinations being visited by Obama during his stay in Mumbai, government sources said. A similar security drill in the capital will be carried out on Friday. The security drill would cover all the destinations where President Obama will be visiting including Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhavan, Rajghat, Prime Minister’s residence and Humayun Tomb.
While NSG snipers will be stationed atop high rise buildings both in Mumbai and the national capital, an Air defence drill similar to the one during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth games opening ceremony on October 3 is expected to be put in place when President Obama arrives in the country. There is also a move to deploy UAV’s, sensors and choppers when the US President is in Delhi, the sources said. All high rise buildings in the vicinity of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel, Delhi’s Maurya Sheraton hotel, where the US President stay, will be sanitised and security personnel will guard them from rooftop to prevent any air borne attack. Similar arrangements will be made near Parliament House and other destinations being visited by Mr Obama in the capital, the sources said.
Govenment sources said that the Mumbai coastline will be guarded by Indian Navy personnel while IAF fighter jets and helicopters will hover in the skies over both the cities. Since the airport is located at a distance, security agencies would not like to take any chance and were advising the use of a chopper by Obama for travel between the airport and the city.
The home ministry has already issued an alert for Mumbai and Delhi asking authorities to take extra precautions during Obama’s visit as well on Diwali on Friday.
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Coconuts removed at Mumbai venue
Mumbai, Nov. 3: In Mumbai, authorities at Mani Bhavan did not want to take the risk of seeing coconuts fall on the head of the American President and asked the local civic body to cut down branches and coconuts from the trees around the museum. Mahatma Gandhi, whom Mr Obama greatly admires, used to stay at the Bhavan during his visits to the city. “We requested the ward officer to remove the branches as they kept falling and coconuts had become dry. We thought it would be better to get them removed,” Mani Bhavan executive secretary, Meghshyam Ajgaonkar said.
Following the request, civic workers from BMC swung into action and removed all the coconuts.
—PTI
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