Date:09/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/09/stories/2008120954700500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Police take charge of stadium

Special Correspondent

Players to be guarded by commandos

Players will intimate the police before going out
Spectators will not be allowed to bring any baggage

CHENNAI: The Chennai Police took charge of the M.A. Chidambaram stadium, the venue of the India-England cricket Test that will begin on December 11.

The luxury hotel at Nungambakkam, where the players will be accommodated, has also come under police scanner.

Besides the Swift Action Force personnel drawn from the Central Reserve Police Force and the Special Action Group of the Chennai Police, Commandos of the Tamil Nadu Commando Force have been deployed at the stadium and the hotel.

“Players will be guarded by commandos. We have given a list of Do’s and Don’ts to players of both the countries through the team managers. They [the players] will intimate the police before going out,” Commissioner of Police K. Radhakrishnan said after inspecting the security arrangements.

Spectators will not be allowed to bring any baggage into the stadium. “We will be deploying police personnel in the high-rise buildings around the venue. Vigil has been intensified on the route of Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) that runs close to the stadium,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.

Strict access-control is being maintained at the stadium, where sleuths of the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad are conducting anti-sabotage checks periodically. About 3,000 personnel will be engaged in crowd management, traffic diversion and other security duties, police sources said.

Traffic on the roads leading to the stadium will be diverted at rush hours. “Quick Reaction Teams will be positioned strategically to handle any emergency. The Indian players have begun practice sessions,” a police official said.