Unprecedented security paraphernalia thrown around Jawaharlal Nehru stadium saw spectators and delegates passing through more than a dozen security checks to reach Jawaharlal Nehru stadium where a spectacular opening ceremony was held to mark the beginning of the Commonwealth Games 2010 here.
Earlier, a high-level security meeting of senior officials, including Union home secretary G.K. Pillai, chiefs of the National Security Guard and Intelligence Bureau took place at North Block on Sunday morning to take note of overall preparedness for the Games.
Sources disclosed that the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), which became operational after the 26/11 terror attack and consists of representatives of all security and intelligence agencies, reviewed the security set-up across the country. The MAC is staffed by the IB and has its subsidiaries in the states where it gathers intelligence from the special branches of the state police establishments. Later, Mr Pillai and special secretary (internal security) in the MHA U.K. Bansal visited the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium and reviewed the security set-up hours before the opening ceremony of the CWG. So tight was the security that even a unit of NSG Commandos had trouble entering a lane near the stadium and had to wait for some time before the police allowed them to do so.
Home minister P. Chidambaram made a surprise visit to the Main Press Centre (MPC) of the Games at Pragati Maidan here on Sunday. He made a brief survey of the MPC which is being run by the Press Information Bureau and is projected as the largest press centre in the history of the Games. The home minister, accompanied by a few security staff and some other officials, did not interact with the scribes present there.
Across the national capital and particularly in areas surrounding J.N. Stadium and the Games Village, elaborate security arrangements were put in place as more than one lakh security personnel, including 175 companies of Central paramilitary forces on central deputation and Delhi police personnel, were seen patrolling the city to make the Games incident-free. Specially trained commandos were deployed at strategic points across the routes leading to J.N. Stadium which remained out of bounds for the denizens. The elaborate security arrangements at J.N. Stadium left even other security agencies quite a task to get their vehicles to enter the lanes towards the stadium. A unit of NSG commandos came in for a rude shock as the police personnel manning the entry lane near the Meharchand Market told the black cat officers that they cannot enter the lane. It took the NSG official some 45 minutes to get clearance from the higher officials to finally convince the cops.