As international cricket returns to the city after close to three decades, the City police are leaving no stone unturned to ensure the smooth conduct of the T20 international match between India and New Zealand on November 7.
The police began the implementation of security measures on the premises of the Sports Hub Trivandrum stadium complex at Karyavattom, the venue of the match, on Monday. Senior police officers, including Additional Director General of Police (ADGP -South Zone) B. Sandhya, and Inspector General (Thiruvananthapuram range) Manoj Abraham visited the stadium to review the ongoing arrangements.
According to District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram city) P. Prakash, close to 2,500 police personnel, including those from police stations and the Armed Reserve Camps, will be mobilised for the purpose.
Control room
As many as eight officials in the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP) will be entrusted with supervising various aspects of the event such as the arrival of the teams; their transportation from the five-star resort at Kovalam; crowd management inside and outside the stadium; traffic control; and parking arrangements. Besides initiating measures for tight security at Kovalam, the police are also likely to adopt steps to ensure smooth vehicular flow along the NH-66 bypass that is expected to be taken by the teams and several spectators.
A control room has started operations on the stadium premises. Besides, physical barriers were being placed at various points in the stadium as part of arrangements for crowd management. While a section of the security force will be deployed to assist spectators, there will also be strike force teams to prevent any untoward incidents.
Confident of ensuring an incident-free event, Mr. Prakash said adequate parking spaces had been identified within and outside the stadium complex to accommodate the vehicles of spectators. Various educational institutions, including the Karyavattom campus of Kerala University and the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education (LNCPE), Karyavattom, are expected to make available their premises for the purpose. Arrangements were also being made to ensure sufficient illumination in the parking areas.
The Kerala Cricket Association has been requested to arrange around 250 volunteers to assist with parking.