Security arrangement has been tightened by the Odisha Police at three different places as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to come on a one-day whirlwind tour to Odisha on Sunday.
While Mr. Modi will dedicate 15 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) oil refinery at Paradip and the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) on the outskirt of Bhubaneswar to nation, he will also visit Puri to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath on Sunday.
Although the PM will do heli-hopping in order to make it to all the three places on Sunday and fly out to Visakhapatnam on the same day, the Odisha Police are not taken any chances in the security arrangements around the venues.
“Although the Prime Minister’s flying to all the three places will reduce security and traffic challenge, he will be amidst tens thousands of people, at least at Jatni and Paradip. Thus, we need to stay on the highest level of security alertness,” said a top police official.
Dedication of the Rs.35,000-crore refinery at Paradip to nation remains the top agenda in the PM’s visit. According to the State police, while the Special Protection Group will be in-charge for inner cordon security, five officers of the rank of Superintendent of Police will lead hundreds of personnel in the outer-ring.
About 50 police platoons will be deployed in and around the port town of Paradip. There will be four Additional SPs and eight Deputy SP ranked officers to supervise crowd management. Small groups of police personnel will be reporting to 41 Inspector-ranked officers in and around the refinery.
Indian Air Force on Friday conducted trial landing of the chopper near NISER ahead of the visit. Mock drills were carried outside the institute. About 40 platoons led by SP-ranked officials will be deployed there.
NISER, under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), was established with the aim to encourage students to take up science and research as a career. The campus is situated over 300 acres in Jatni town, 25 km from Bhubaneswar. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had inaugurated the institute on campus of Institute of Physics. Recently, the sprawling campus with spectacular buildings was completed.
Meanwhile, the State police are giving final touches to preparation for putting a foolproof security arrangement in place at Puri.