The record-setting presence of 10 heads of state at next week’s Republic Day parade in New Delhi has led to massive preparations by 100-odd government agencies.
A big challenge for the security establishment will not only be to protect the foreign dignitaries but also to ensure they reach Rajpath – the parade venue – on time as the prime minister would be waiting to receive them.
Leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN – Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Brunei – are being hosted by India this year.
The stage that will be enclosed by bullet-proof glass will be 100 feet wide, three times bigger than what it was last year.
“The guests will be staying at Taj Palace, Taj Mansingh, Maurya Sheraton, the Leela Palace and the Oberoi. The convoy of each leader will have around nine luxury cars.
Drills are being conducted every morning and the drivers are being briefed, he added.
On Republic Day, the foreign guests would go to Rashtrapati Bhavan first from where the cars carrying the heads of state and their spouses will start rolling down the Raisina Hill at 9.35 am.
It would take clockwork precision, as there would be a gap of one minute between their arrivals at the podium.
