Bhubaneswar: Nearly 50 platoons of policemen will be deployed in the city during the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup to be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the newly-constructed Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela from January 13-29.
“Arrangements are being made by dividing it into different stages, nearly 50 platoons of policemen will be deployed. However, we will be able to give you the exact number after details of the arrangements are worked out,” informed Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh briefing reporters after a preparatory meeting on security arrangements for FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup to be held in January next year.
The DCP said that as players of different teams, other match officials, and VIPs will be soon arriving in the city for the Hockey World Cup, a preparatory meeting on making security arrangements for them was held today.
The preparatory meeting on security arrangements for the Hockey World Cup was attended by the authorities of various stakeholders including airport security, CISF, and police, the DCP added.
Different aspects like entry and exit of players at the airport, and ensuring their safe transport to hotels and venues were reviewed in the meeting, Singh said.
“Deployment will be made from January 3 on a 24×7 basis. One DC will remain in charge of the airport. ACP Zone II has been made the Nodal Officer. There will be four ACPs, four Inspectors, 16 Sub Inspectors, and a total of two platoons of force will be deployed on a rotation basis here. They will ensure that players arriving at the airport will safely leave without any obstruction. Traffic policemen will be deployed for the smooth movement of vehicles. We will coordinate the movement of different teams arriving here,” explained Singh.
A control room will be set up in front of the departure gate of the airport, he added.
He informed that it will be also ensured that general passengers are not inconvenienced.
“We have briefed the office-bearers of the taxi association at the airport to ensure that they behave cordially with the passengers. A helpdesk will be established for passengers in case somebody faces some issue,” stated Singh.
The DCP said that since matches of the Hockey World Cup will be played in the two cities of Bhubaneswar and Rourkela this time there will be frequent movement of teams between the two venues.
For this purpose two checkpoints have been set up, which will ensure that the teams departing from the airport do not face any hurdles, route lining will be provided, and teams will be escorted by police teams safely to their hotels, he added.
