CHANDIGARH:
Clearly stunned out of its slumber after the Mumbai mayhem of last week, the UT
administration has in an unprecedented security move asked the police to give
video records and layouts of all important city structures and
buildings.
Figuring on top of the list are the Punjab and Haryana
secretariat, Punjab and UT police headquarters, defence audit department, high
court and civil secretariat. There are also important hotels -- Taj, Mountview
and Shivalikview -- which need to furnish this information.
"The
recent attacks in Mumbai have forced us to review these buildings in view of the
present security and further steps that can be taken for ramping up
arrangements," sources in UT's architecture department told TOI on
Thursday.
Confirming the order, ASP (central) Madhur Verma said
officials concerned along with hotel staff would be trained to handle security
apparatus and equipment.
A senior administrative official added that
the police department would be filing its findings in the next four-five days
and required steps would be taken thereafter. He said, "Though some of the
buildings already have security in the form of paramilitary forces, we want to
explore what more we can do regarding this."
On their part, the
management committees of big hotels here have already purchased a number of
security equipment and are training staff on their use. The TOI had recently
reported how city's Taj hotel had made investments of around Rs 35 lakh in an
attempt to intensify security, coming as it did after Ratan Tata said in Mumbai
that there would be no stinginess as far as safety of guests were
concerned.
This comes even as UT IG SK Jain in a recent order
instructed installation of CCTVs at all vital points of Chandigarh while making
a special request to the managements of PGI, GMCH-32 and GMH-16 to do the
needful.