Mumbai, March 31 (IANS) The entire south Mumbai has been declared a no-fly zone as a security measure for Saturday’s India-Sri Lanka World Cup final to be played at the Wankhede Stadium and which will be attended by the presidents of the two countries, police said Thursday.
No aircraft – barring those used by the dozen-odd security agencies, including the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Indian Navy and others – will be allowed to fly over the south Mumbai skies to ward off any aerial threats, Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said.
The authorities have also decided to ban group SMSes for the day and are carrying out a check on the antecedents of various foreign nationals living or touring in south Mumbai, Patnaik said.
The state government has already declared a holiday for Mumbai city and suburbs Saturday.
Patnaik appealed to people to remain indoors and enjoy the cricket match.
‘There are no tickets for sale at the stadium now. Kindly do not go to the stadium in the hope of getting tickets,’ he said.
He said that all security personnel have been issued special bio-metric identity cards and instructed to operate at ‘zero tolerance’ levels on the match day.
The Mumbai police will be aided by agencies like Maharashtra Police, Indian Coast Guard, National Security Guard, Force One, Quick Response Teams, Central Industrial Security Force, State Reserve Police Force and Central Reserve Police Force to handle all aspects of ground, aerial and coastal security.
The authorities have set up a special helpline number (9146009090) to enable people inform the police about any suspicious activities in the city.
For those attending the grand finale, the police have prepared a list of do’s and dont’s as part of the security set-up.
While mobile phones, medicines, caps will be permitted, no cameras, water bottles or food items will be allowed inside the venue.
Patnaik appealed to the people to use public transport as far as possible in view of strict traffic and parking restrictions.
