BHUBANESWAR: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in the State on a two-day visit, a thick blanket of security was thrown across coastal Odisha on Saturday.
Security agencies - both national and State - are on alert while Director General of Police (DGP) KB Singh reviewed the bandobast at Paradip where the Prime Minister (PM) will unveil the IOCL refinery on Sunday afternoon. As a huge turnout is expected at the meeting, police are leaving nothing to chance.
The port town has turned into a virtual fort with over 50 platoons of OSAP force mobilised to keep an eye on the security. Additional DG Arun Roy will be in over-all charge of the security details for Paradip leg of the PM’s visit.
“We have made adequate arrangements to ensure that the function passes off smoothly. While Roy will be in overall charge, he would be assisted by IG (Central Range) RP Koche,” said Singh who was camping at Paradip since Friday evening.
Two separate helipads have been created for the PM and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. For better management, the public meeting venue has been divided into multiple sectors with arrangements for women as well as children. Metal detectors have been deployed for frisking of visitors. Patrolling has been heightened in the town.
Under the supervision of Roy and Koche, the DGP said six SP-ranked officers will be on the job. That apart, 20 DSPs, 50 IICs and 100-plus officers have been pressed into the security arrangements. At Jatni, where he will dedicate the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), equally massive arrangement has been made. Twin City Police Commissioner Yogesh Bahadur Khurania - in overall charge of the security at Bhubaneswar and Jatni - took stock of the final preparations on Saturday. While the airport is under CISF control, the Commissionerate Police will also supplement the security measures. The entire route from Airport to Raj Bhawan, where the PM will have his night halt, has been secured and sanitised.
Khurania said the overall security arrangement at NISER in Jatni will be supervised by Additional CP PS Ranpise while IG (South) Amitabh Thakur has been put in charge of the security measures from Biju Patnaik Airport to Raj Bhawan. The Raj Bhawan security is being overseen by a Commandant-ranked officer. At NISER helipad, Kendrapara SP Nitinjit Singh will remain in-charge. The security at NISER venue would be under the supervision of Dhenkanal SP Nikhil Kanodia. A whopping 60 platoons of police force and 250 officers have been pressed in at Bhubaneswar and Jatni.