Massive security arrangements in place for International Yoga Day

New Delhi:  The Delhi Police have put in place massive security arrangements in Rajpath and nearby areas for the first International Yoga Day event on June 21.

Police Commissioner BS Bassi said, “18 Deputy Commissioners will be deployed, 30 company force and local police will also be there.”

“All the necessary arrangements for maintaining law and order, smooth traffic movement and security have been made for Yoga Day,” he added.

As per reports, security forces will be deployed in full strength from 3 am onwards as the event is scheduled to begin at 7 am.

Over 40,000 people, including ministers, political leaders and government officials, are expected to participate.

Security agencies will seal areas within a two-km radius of Rajpath, with over 5,000 Delhi Police personnel, sharp shooters, dog squads and commandos taking positions.

The overall security for the occasion would be as tight as it is during the Republic Day parade (on January 26), he said.

Delhi Traffic Police have divided Rajpath and the nearby areas in two zones - red and green - to ensure smooth flow of traffic as people perform yoga asanas (postures) marking the UN-sponsored International Yoga Day.

Rajpath, Rafi Marg, Janpath and Man Singh Road have been put in the red zone, where traffic movement has already been stopped since Wednesday, officials told IANS.

Ring Road, Mathura Road, Aurobindo Marg, Panchsheel Marg, Mother Teresa Crescent, Sardar Patel Road, Upper Ridge Road, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Barakhambha Road, Indraprastha Marg and Lodhi Road are under the green zone, where only labelled vehicles and residents - with proper address proof - would be allowed to enter on the day.

Earlier reports said that security agencies have launched a special operation, codenamed 'DOGA' - combining the words 'dog' and 'yoga', by deploying trained canine squads to sanitise and ensure fool-proof security at the venue of the International Yoga Day event.

Official sources told news agency PTI that the operation is being spearheaded by the elite canine squad of paramilitary force ITBP. As the venue around India Gate-Rajpath in the heart of the national capital, the area and, its peripheries have been handed over for security checks to these four-legged soldiers.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police, nominated as the national 'centre for excellence' for sniffer and police dogs training, has put on job a special breed of Belgian Shepherd, 'Malinois' who had gained prominence across the world after they were reported to have participated in the strike of US Navy SEAL that killed al-Qaida chief Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

"Apart from the 'Malinois' breed, about a dozen German Shepherd and Labrador dogs have been deployed for sniffing and anti-sabotage tasks round-the-clock on Rajpath and surrounding areas. They are working in regular shifts along with their handlers... They will keep doing their job till the event ends on June 21," a senior official privy to 'Op DOGA' said.

The official said sniffer dog units of other security agencies like Delhi Police have also been roped in. ITBP's canine squad had been deployed during the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi Cabinet on the Rashtrapati Bhavan forecourt last year and the visit of US President Barack Obama to India in January this year.

With Agency inputs