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Tamil Nadu
Sensitising managements of hotels to security measures
Vigil stepped up across the city in places of worship, bus stands and in vital installations, writes R. Rajaram
Precautionary measures: A policeman checking persons using a metal detector at the Rockfort Temple in Tiruchi on Friday.
The terror attacks in Mumbai prompted the City Police authorities to not only step up vigil as a precautionary measure on the one hand but also sensitise the management of star hotels here to various security-related measures they need to carry out in the near future.
During the hour-long meeting on Thursday, organised as an immediate fall out of the Mumbai incident, the law enforcers advised the hotel management authorities on the various do’s they need to initiate to enhance security in their respective hotels.
One of the principal suggestions made by the law enforcers to the hotel authorities was the installation of Closed Circuit Television Set (CCTV) to maintain a round-the-clock surveillance of key places within their respective hotels.
The advantage of having a video backup facility, through installation of the CCTV system, and the ways it could be of immense use both for the hotel managements as well as to the law enforcers in case of any emergency were clearly enlightened on the occasion.
Police sources said the hotel managements were also requested to go in for security gadgets such as the Door Frame Metal Detector and Hand Held Metal Detectors to prevent smuggling of arms inside the hotels.
Increasing the strength of security guards and provision of proper lighting facility in unused places within the hotel premises were also some of the suggestions put-forth to the hotel managements during the meeting.
The managements were asked to furnish to the police authorities the complete list of foreigners and other visitors staying at the hotels in the city on a daily basis. They were also advised to inform the police if the movements of visitors were suspicious.
They were also advised to seek the assistance of the police in checking the antecedents of those visitors staying for a longer duration at the hotels. The law enforcers also suggested to the hotel managements to note down the registration number of vehicles dropping the visitors as well as those entering and leaving the premises and alert the police in case a vehicle was found abandoned for a longer duration.
The exercise was basically aimed at sensitising the hotel authorities to various security-related aspects, said a senior police official.
The sources said following an alert from their headquarters in the wake of the Mumbai terror incidents, the police had stepped up vigil across the city including in places of worship, bus stands and in vital installations.
Quick Reaction Teams, each headed by an Inspector, armed with sophisticated weapons had been mobilised and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad had also been sounded an alert to act swiftly in crisis situations, say the sources.
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