Children play games at a shop on a deserted street close to the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya on Sunday. The inflow of pilgrims to the temple town has reduced considerably since the terror strike at the Ramjanmabhoomi complex on Tuesday last.
— PTI photo |
Lucknow, July 10
A high-level meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary Neera Yadav, considered the revision of the security arrangement at Ayodhya, Mathura, Varanasi, the Taj Mahal and the Vidhan Sabha against possible terrorist attacks.
In the wake of the terrorist attack on Ayodhya it was clear that the present security arrangement was geared towards mob control, the kind that was witnessed when unruly crowds pulled down the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1994.
According to senior police officials while none of these sensitive sites lack in manpower deployment, the security arrangement is not geared for a terrorist attack.
Admitting that the containment of terrorists before they could do more damage in Ayodhya last week was “sheer luck”, senior officer said the security arrangement needed an urgent review, not in terms of deployment but strategy.
At the moment there are 1,080 PAC personnel, 450 CRPF jawans and 24 PAC commandos at Ayodhya. There are also 311 other security personnel, including one additional SP and two Deputy SPs. State intelligence officials have also been posted around the disputed site.
The staff position in Mathura is also adequate. There are 360 PAC and CRPF personnel each and 485 other security men drawn from the state police.
Similarly at the Gyanwapi complex at Varanasi there are 1,503 security men — 540 PAC, 360 CRPF and 603 personnel from the state police.
ADG Law and Order A. Palanivel said as both Mathura and Varanasi are located in densely populated areas, the security arrangements needed an urgent reassessment.
As Ayodhya is spread over 67 acres there is a proposal to install more watchtowers, close circuit television cameras and other gadgets to monitor the movement of people around the disputed area.
Similarly, there is a proposal to built watchtowers around the Taj Mahal. Security check at the southern gate is also under consideration as there are congested localities around the area. The rear of the Taj Mahal towards the Yamuna also needs to be strengthened.
A better coordination with the intelligence agencies was also stressed upon at the meeting, informed the senior police official.
