New Delhi:
A section of Delhi's international airport will be taken over by the US Secret Service when President Barack Obama lands in Air Force One on Sunday, January 25, for India's Republic Day celebrations a day later. (
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For the first time, all roads to Rajpath in the heart of Delhi have been shut down a week before the celebrations as the national capital turns into a fortress for President Obama, who is the chief guest at this year's Republic Day ceremony.
The next day, US President will also visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, which will be shut during that time. The highway between Delhi and Agra will be also be closed for two days.
Delhi's Rajpath, the 3 km stretch on which the Republic Day parade is held, is flanked by key roads and government offices that will also be shut for two days from Saturday, January 24.
Rajpath will have about 165 CCTV cameras, which means a camera every 180 metres. Around 15,000 CCTV cameras have being installed in the capital and American security personnel will be part of the teams that man the control rooms set up to watch the footage. (
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A seven-layer security ring is planned around the enclosure on Rajpath from where President Obama, President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will watch the Republic Day parade.
Because President Obama will be on an open air platform at Rajpath for more than two hours when he watches the parade - he never spends more than 45 minutes outside - there is a possibility that the VVIP enclosure will be put behind a bullet-proof shield, sources have said.
There is a possibility that the chief guest, for the first time, will arrive at the venue separately rather than with the President, in his own bullet-proof limousine, sources say. If he does follow protocol and arrives with President Mukherjee, Mr Obama will possibly be the first US President not to travel in his own highly-secured 'Beast'. (
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The airspace over the area will be monitored by radar that is being specially set up for the visit. All routes to be taken by the US president will be blocked.
Metro stations around Rajpath will be closed to the public from the afternoon of January 25.
About 40,000 to 45,000 security personnel will be posted on January 26.
There will also be massive security at ITC Maurya Sheraton, where President Obama will stay. Most of the buildings within a radius of two km will have snipers stationed on them while the parade is on.