National
R-Day parade passes off peacefully
By Our Staff Reporter
The BSF contingent taking part in the parade. - Photo: Anu Pushkarna
NEW DELHI, JAN. 26. With the 53rd Republic Day parade here today passing off peacefully, the Delhi police, central paramilitary forces and intelligence units heaved a sigh of relief as there was a major threat of terrorist attack, which had been accentuated with intelligence inputs on some Lashkar-e-Taiba militants sneaking into the Capital.
For the parade, a ``no-fly zone'' had also been enforced around the route with the help of an air defence system comprising eight guns and four radars. Also, all movement of flights, trains and buses to and fro Delhi stood curtailed during the period.
More than 60,000 Delhi police personnel and 10,000 from paramilitary forces were out on the streets since early in the morning to ensure a peaceful Republic Day. At many places, temporary sandbag bunkers had been put up and heavily armed personnel deployed for countering any terrorist storming operation.
Coming as it did just a month after the December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament, the parade this year was held under an unprecedented security cover. For the first time aerial surveillance was provided by helicopters and special methods were employed to thwart use of any microlight aircraft or toy planes by militants.
Sharpshooters and commandos of the National Security Guard were deployed at strategic locations around the Rajpath and some others sensitive spots. Security at most Government buildings was strengthened with the help of armed personnel positioned in newly-erected bunkers.
Personnel had also been placed atop at least 500 buildings along the parade route to keep an eye on subversives. Two mobile medium machineguns were placed at strategic locations to prevent any militant strike. Adopting a more aggressive posture, the security agencies had replaced the carbines of many personnel with AK-47 rifles and MP-5 submachine guns.
A bomb disposal squad and minesweepers were also deployed in large numbers for sanitising the area along the parade route. And the Government had kept a battalion of Border
Security Force and more than 20 commandos of the NSG as reserves for any contingency.
While a five-tier security ring oversaw the parade route, a three-tier separate ring was accorded to the VVIPs who sat in the special enclosure at the saluting dais on Rajpath.
The vehicular movement into the capital from the neighbouring States was put under observation from early in the morning. At the borders with both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, personnel of both States and Delhi Police checked vehicles and questioned occupants. And all vehicles were checked again on the bridges over the Yamuna. Vehicles coming to Rajpath were again checked for explosives at the parking lots.
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