Sport - Cricket;Unprecedented security for Test Match

S.Vijay Kumar

CHENNAI: Unprecedented security arrangements have been made for the India-England cricket Test match to be played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here from Thursday.

Players of both teams have arrived, and police have intensified vigil at the stadium and at the hotel where they are accommodated.

At a high-level meeting on Tuesday, Commissioner of Police K. Radhakrishnan reviewed the security arrangements.

“About 3,000 police personnel have been deployed for bandobust, including traffic management. Surveillance cameras will be installed at vantage points in and around the stadium. A list of dos and don’ts has been issued to players and spectators. The police have taken over the stadium and the hotel,” he said.

Mr. Radhakrishnan said special teams were deployed strategically to handle emergency situations. “In the event of an exigency, we have ‘Quick Reaction Teams’ to carry out the evacuation process. The players are being protected by armed commandos,” he said.

Spotter police constables trained in identifying habitual offenders and extremist elements would be deployed during the days of the test match.

There was commotion at the hotel when one of the Indian players objected to the tough security measures on Tuesday, a senior police official said. “The fifth floor is a restricted zone where visitors are not allowed. Even as security personnel were trying to explain, the player took a visitor to the fifth floor without allowing the police to carry out the mandatory frisking. An entry has been made in the local police station records about the incident. We are taking up the matter with the Security Manager of the Indian Team and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association officials,” the official added.