4,000 security personnel to be posted for unveiling of statue

4,000 security personnel to be posted for unveiling of statue

Staff Reporter
Police detain nearly 400 activists of pro-Kannada groups
BANGALORE: Over 4,000 security personnel, including those from the Central forces, will be deployed to provide security during the unveiling the statue of Thiruvalluvar near Ulsoor lake here on Sunday.

The high-profile programme will be attended by Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his Tamil Nadu counterpart M. Karunanidhi. The two governments have entered into an understanding to unveil statues of Thiruvalluvar and Sarvajna in the respective State capitals.

Considering the opposition by many Kannada organisations to the unveiling of the statue, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the city police have made all arrangements to ensure the programme goes off smoothly. As a precautionary measure, the police have detained nearly 400 activists of several pro-Kannada associations, including Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president K. Narayana Gowda and former MLA and Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha leader, Vatal Nagaraj, in Hassan. Kannada organisations have given a call for bandh on Sunday. However, the steps taken by the police are expected to ensure that the bandh will not be effective.

Police personnel will be stationed at several Tamil-dominated areas in and around Ulsoor. Additional security arrangements have also been made on Magadi Road and at Srirampuram, Vyalikaval, Viveknagar, Rammurthynagar, Lingarajpuram, Benson Town and Bharathi Nagar. The police have identified around 20 sensitive and hyper-sensitive areas.The police have indicated that there will not be much traffic on the arterial roads and that it is advisable for motorists to avoid roads around the Ulsoor lake in the morning. In accordance with the directions of Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari to detain activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a large number of activists were taken into preventive custody throughout the day. Angry members of a pro-Kannada association deflated tyres of several Tamil Nadu-registered vehicles. Vehicles were made to stop on the Tumkur highway and tyres were deflated resulting in traffic jams.