Mumbai: Stringent security arrangements are
in place at Maharashtra Assembly here, including a ban on
entry of bodyguards and drivers of legislators entering the
building, ahead of the budget session of the state legislature
beginning tomorrow.
The security measures include stopping of ministers' cars
at the main entrance of the imposing legislature building in
posh Nariman Point area of south Mumbai, official sources
said.
"Ministers and legislators' vehicles will be stopped at
the entrance and they would have to alight and walk into the
Vidhan Bhawan premises," the sources said. This is a far cry
from parking the car in the porch, a practice prevalent till
now.
Bodyguards and drivers of legislators will not be allowed
entry into the building. Webcams would be used to photograph
visitors who would be issued entry passes, the sources said.
The strict security measures come into force 15 months
after the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai and in the backdrop
of a recent security audit report conducted by the police on
the landmark Vidhan Bhawan the building that houses the
state's legislature.
The audit report pointed to security shortcomings at
Vidhan Bhavan, terming the existing systems 'obsolete' and
asked for a complete overhaul and upgrade on an urgent basis.
-PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 22:01