Security beefed up for Bangalore ODI

Bangalore : Police beefed up security in and around the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here for the seventh and final One-Day International (ODI) game between India and Australia Saturday.

“We have deployed about 1,200 personnel, including commandos around the stadium to ensure fool-proof security for fans and players and stepped up vigil to prevent any untoward incident before, during and after the match,” Bangalore additional commissioner (law & order) Kamal Pant told IANS here.

Around 600 constables have also been pressed into service to regulate vehicular traffic around the stadium and prevent a gridlock in the central business district as the match coincides with the first day of the three-day Diwali festival.

“In addition to adequate number of police personnel, an anti-sabotage team, a bomb squad and a dog squad are being used to sanitise the venue and check any unidentified object that could endanger the safety of people and the stadium,” Pant said.

Police also banned parking of vehicles in a 1 km radius around the stadium from 12 noon to 10 p.m. to facilitate the entry of fans and installed closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) at vantage points, including entry/exit gates, to monitor crowd movement.

“Fans will not be allowed to carry bags, water bottles, food items or other objects inside the stadium and they will be frisked at all the gates to ensure strict compliance,” Pant said.

With the ODI series levelled 2-2 after two games at Ranchi in Jharkhand Oct 23 and Cuttack in Odisha Oct 26 were washed out due to heavy rain, the seventh and final game is expected to be a cracker of a contest between the top two teams in the ICC rankings.

The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) is expecting the stadium to be jam packed with frenzied fans in view of the weekend holiday and the match being a decider to win the closely fought series.