C'wealth Games to be 'safe & incident free'

NEW DELHI: All venues for the Commonwealth Games to be held here in October 2010 will be sealed at least 7-14 days ahead of the opening ceremony. This is only one of the precautionary measures lined up as part of the elaborate security drill to be followed to keep the international sporting event ���completely safe and incident free���.

Briefing mediapersons at the end of the two-day international security liaison conference for the 19th Commonwealth Games to be held from October 3-14 next year, Union home secretary G K Pillai said all contingency plans will have a mock run ahead of the Games, which can be watched and evaluated by independent observers to be sent by the various participating countries.

Even as he shared the suggestions made and clarifications sought by the Commonwealth nations on the security bandobast for the Games, Mr Pillai insisted that there were no specific inputs with the intelligence agencies regarding a threat to the sporting event.

���There is no specific threat to the games as of now and to the best of our knowledge,��� he said, but added that all security arrangements and contingency plans would be in place well ahead of the event to ward off any attempts to disrupt the event. The threat assessment will be shared from time to time between India and the participating countries. In fact, the International Security Liaison Group may hold a follow-up security review meeting sometime between June and August next year, when venues will be available and contingency plans in place.

According to Mr Pillai, all the 76 delegates from around 26 countries that attended the two-day conference and even inspected the Games venues appeared satisfied with the ���professional nature of the presentation��� made by MHA and police brass regarding access control and perimeter security measures; safety of players and other delegates; and contingency plans involving evacuation and medical emergencies.

As many as 8,000 athletes, hundreds of delegates and some 15-30 heads of state will converge on the Capital for the Games. The authorities here will not only ensure foolproof security for the visitors during their stay and travel both in and outside Delhi but will also try and minimise traffic hazards by running a major awareness drive with the help of media and NGOs.