A total of 1,200 police personnel under the supervision of the Superintendents of Police (SPs) from Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts will be deployed as part of security arrangements for BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Vellore town on June 11.
N. Manivannan, SP (Vellore), told The Hindu that adequate security measures have been taken for the Minister’s visit to the fort town. As per plan, Mr. Shah will address a public meeting in the open ground at Kandaneri village near Pallikonda toll plaza near Vellore town on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 44) on Sunday evening. “The security arrangements at the venue are being reviewed on a daily basis. However, no traffic changes will be in place in the district during the visit,” Mr. Manivannan said.
BJP functionaries in Vellore said the Minister’s visit to Vellore is to highlight the achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s nine years of governance through a series of public meetings across the country. In Tamil Nadu, 66 public meetings have been chalked out by the BJP and the speakers will be briefing the public on three topics: service, good governance and a government for the poor.
On Friday, along with senior police officers including Mr. Manivannan, M.S. Muthusamy, DIG (Vellore Range) inspected the venue including the stage, visitors area and parking lot. The vast open area at the foot of a hillock, around 200 metres from the national highway, has been chosen for the public meeting to accommodate more number of visitors from nearby districts like Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Kancheepuram and Villupuram. Traffic snarls especially near Vellore town will also be avoided as the venue is away from the town limits.
The runway at the under-construction airport near Vellore town was also inspected by senior police officers as the Home Minister is expected to fly in a helicopter to Vellore. From the new airport, Mr. Shah will travel by road to the venue. Some of the other dignitaries expected at the meeting are V.K. Singh, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways; L. Murugan, Minister of State of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairy; and Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai.
