Bangalore, Feb 25 (DHNS): The M Chinnaswamy Stadium will resemble a fortress on Sunday when India and England set out to lock horns in a Cricket World Cup match, with a security clampdown within a one-kilometre radius of the stadium. 

About 3,000 policemen, including 700 traffic police personnel, will be deployed to prevent any untoward incidents.“There is no threat perception for this match,” City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari said at a press-do which had Rahul Dravid as the moderator and Javagal Srinath watching from the background.

“India and Great Britain have cordial ties and there is no ill-will, but we are not taking any chances. We request the fans to occupy the seats early to avoid last-minute rush. The gates will be open from 10.30 am, four hours before the scheduled start of the game, and that should help the public settle in their seats before the first ball is bowled.”

Spectators cannot carry cigarettes, explosives, knives, rods, helmets, bags, cameras, laptops, glass water bottles, eatables, etc into the stadium. "The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is making all arrangements including supply of drinking water for fans," Bidari noted. “We request the public to avoid bringing mobile phones as much as possible, but if it is inevitable, we will allow them,” Bidari said.

Overall security

Spectators will be frisked at the entrance gate as well as inside the stadium. While the KSCA security personnel will check tickets, the overall security task will be looked after by the City police.

Bidari sought to distance himself from a recent statement of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) T Sunil Kumar asking KSCA to keep off the security affairs.

Kumar, on his part, said: “We don’t bother if the KSCA deploys private security personnel inside the stadium. It’s up to them to take a call but we will take care of the whole security, inside as well as outside the stadium.”

Referring to the caning of fans on Thursday morning, who had queued up to procure tickets, Bidari said: “People were jostling around and ending up with injuries. To avoid more trouble, we had to intervene,” reasoned Bidari.

Sniffer dog, anti-sabotage, and bomb disposal squads were pressed into service to sanitise the entire area. “We have installed cameras and 28 closed circuit televisions (CCTVs) in and around the stadium to keep an eye on trouble-makers and undesirable elements,” Bidari added.

The City police are charging Rs five lakh for providing security for the match. In addition, food will be provided to the policemen on duty.  In a related development, two KSCA officials were arrested late Thursday and sent to judicial custody for black-marketing tickets.

Fire safety

Senior fire force officials, including the Director and the Deputy Director (Technical), visited the stadium and inspected the fire safety measures.

As many as 700 fire extinguishers have been installed at strategic locations. Also, there are enough number of trained personnel to deal with any fire mishap. Besides, two fire stations and 20 fire brigade officials will be positioned inside the stadium.