Army, 6000 police personnel to provide security for IIFA

Colombo: Not willing to take any chances despite the end of the war with LTTE, Sri Lankan authorities will deploy as many as 6000 police personnel besides the army to ensure security during International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) award function to be held here. The authorities are putting in place an elaborate security arrangement for the three day extravaganza that will see top Indian film and other personalities gracing various events here from June 3-5.

The Police Department has taken measures to deploy six thousand police officers for the upcoming IIFA film festival. Further, steps have been taken to deploy armed forces for the security of areas outside Colombo, an official release said. Demands have been made by a Tamil group in India urging superstar Amitabh Bachchan not to attend the function. Bachchan&aposs son, daughter-in-law Abhishek and Aishwarya have already confirmed that they would not be attending the event due to prior commitments. There will be layers of security at the main venues which would range from route security, ensuring safety of the celebrities and security to their accommodation at some of Colombo&aposs finest hotels, Daily Mirror reported. As many as 39 DIGs have been assigned to respective divisions of the comprehensive security plan that will come into action during the high profile event. In addition, the Government expects to obtain the support of civil security committees in this connection. While the opening day will witness a fashion show, the second day will see FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum 2010 involving cinema and business leaders. Besides a charity cricket match with Asian cricketers and Indian film stars is also scheduled. The grand award ceremony will be held on June 5. During the function to announce Colombo as the IIFA venue here last month, Sri Lankan Tourism (one of the main organisers of the IIFA 2010) Secretary KAD George Michael had said Colombo was gearing up for the big event. "The city of Colombo is decking up for one of the biggest events to come to our country,"he said. PTI