Security personnel hold a hawk-eyed vigil on Rajpath, where President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will celebrate the occasion along with other dignitaries and thousands of others. The inspection and pat-down in Rajghat will be carried out by personnel in PPE equipment, with a mask and face shield, complying with COVID-19 protocols, the official said.
A five-layer security cover has been deployed in and around the city to maintain law and order, a senior police officer said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Eish Singhal said that more than 6,000 policemen have been deployed to Rajpath for the Republic Day celebrations. Following COVID protocols, only 25,000 people will be able to attend the ceremony at Rajpath, as opposed to more than a lakh of spectators who generally attended the event each year, he said. The parade will be shorter this year.
Instead of marching to the Red Fort, the parade will end at the national stadium. Only paintings will be allowed in the Red Fort, he said. “We have 140 CCTV cameras on the route of the Republic Day parade and throughout the venues. We have identified and configured facial recognition systems at 30 points on Rajpath from which the public would enter.” This system is powered by a database of nearly 50,000 people, including suspected terrorists, criminals and antisocial elements, “said another senior police officer.
According to a notice, no traffic will be allowed in Vijay Chowk from 6 p.m. Monday until the parade ends. Rajpath is already off limits. There will be no cross traffic at the Rajpath intersections starting at 11pm Monday at Rafi Marg, Janpath, Man Singh Road until the parade is over. To maintain law and order during the farm tractor parade, thousands of security personnel have already been deployed at various border points. Deependra Pathak, Special Police Commissioner (Intelligence), said on Sunday that more than 300 Twitter identifiers have been generated from Pakistan to disrupt the tractor parade. Traffic going to NH-44 and GT Karnal Highway will divert from Singhu Shani Mandir, Ashok Farm / Janti Tall, Hamidpur, Sunderpur Majra, Zindopur Mukhmelpur, Kadipur, Kushak Colony, Mukarba Chowk and GTK Depot, “Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) said Meenu Chowdhary.
The second batch of vehicles will depart from the Tikri border and pass through Nangloi, Baprola Village and Najafgarh, excluding Phirni Road, Jharoda Border, Rohtak Bypass (Bahadurgarh) and Asoda Toll Plaza, Chowdhary said. Police said traffic will be diverted from different points. Traffic will not be allowed to enter the Rohtak Highway from Kirari Mor and will be diverted towards Mangolpuri. It will also divert from Ghevra Mor to Khanjawala, they said.
The Ghazipur border tractors will cover a part of the NH-24 from where they will turn right onto Highway 56, ISBT Anand Vihar, Apsara Border, Hapur Road, Bhopura, IMS College, Lal Kuan and Ghazipur Border, police said . . Hundreds of women farmers are also expected to drive tractors. Peasant leaders have appealed to the parade participants to carry enough rations for 24 hours and to ensure that the demonstration is peaceful. “No one should carry weapons or drink alcohol. Banners with inciting messages are not allowed,” said a peasant leader. Promulgated in September last year, the three agricultural laws have been projected by the Center as major reforms in the agricultural sector that will eliminate middlemen and allow farmers to sell their products anywhere in the country. However, protesting farmers have expressed fear that the new laws would pave the way to remove the minimum support price safety cushion and end the ‘mandi’ system, leaving them at the mercy of large corporations.
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