As part of the security arrangements for Independence Day, Delhi Police will deploy more than 10,000 personnel in different roles around the historic Red Fort and the routes leading to it on August 15. The police will also be using unconventional means like expert kite-flyers to secure the area.
On Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the nation from the ramparts of the historic monument.
Delhi Police is installing more than 1,000 high-definition CCTV cameras, most of which are Internet Protocol (IP) enabled, in and around the fort and the routes to keep a close vigil. Live feed from these CCTV cameras will be monitored from a control room set-up inside the Red Fort complex.
“We have made flawless and fool-proof security arrangements for the day,” Dependra Pathak, Special Commissioner Of Police (Law And Order), said earlier this week.
The police will work at containing sub-conventional aerial objects. The security forces are also maintaining real-time coordination with intelligence and central agencies along with inter-state coordination, he said.
To counter any possible exigency, massive checks are being carried out to detect the presence of IEDs (improvised explosive devices), if any, the officer said.
Earlier, Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora had issued an order to prohibit the flying of aerial objects like paragliders, hang gliders, and hot air balloons before August 15.
The Delhi Police has roped in 231 expert kite-flyers from the walled city area to ensure the skies are free of kites for about three hours on the morning of Independence Day. Besides this, the police in Delhi’s north district will also have personnel positioned at around 350 rooftop locations with long bamboo sticks to snag stray kites, Indian Express reported.
In 2018, a stray kite landed near the Prime Minister while he was delivering his speech, while another kite landed on a tree inside Red Fort last year during the ceremony.
The Delhi Police has also decided to hire buses this year to use as blockades during the celebrations in the National Capital. This decision is in view of the situation that occurred last year when agitating farmers on foot and in tractors stormed the Red Fort complex on Republic Day.
