Ban on flying of drones, 22,000 police on duty when PM visits Chennai

The state capital has been brought under a five-tier security with 22,000 police personnel involved in the security arrangements for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be here for two days, beginning July 28, to inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad.

Chennai city police commissioner Shankar Jiwal issued orders prohibiting flying of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles in the city on July 28-29, in view of the Prime Minister’s visit. As many as 22,000 police personnel, including the commissioner, four joint commissioners, seven deputy commissions and 26 assistant commissioners will be involved in the security duty.

Modi will inaugurate the 44th Chess Olympiad at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on July 28 evening, and attend the convocation ceremony of the prestigious Anna University the next day. The Olympiad will be held at a luxurious five-star property overlooking the Bay of Bengal in the ancient coastal town of Mamallapuram from July 29 to August 10.

After arriving at the Chennai Airport, Modi is likely to use a helicopter to land on INS Adyar, from where he will proceed to the stadium for the inaugural event.

Mamallapuram, known for its magnificent architecture of the famed Pallava kingdom, will host the 44th Chess Olympiad, after the international event was shifted out of Russia.

Over 2,600 rooms, mostly sea-facing, in luxury resorts that dot the scenic East Coast Road—which connects Chennai and Mamallapuram—have been booked for the Chess Olympiad.

The state government has made elaborate arrangements for the conduct of the chess event. It has constituted 18 working committees, headed by senior bureaucrats and Director General of Police Sylendra Babu, to oversee the preparations for the world championship.

The committees include transport, sponsorship, hospitality, media and publicity, security, food, medical services, electricity, and organizing school chess events. Since this is the first time that India will be hosting the world championship, the Tamil Nadu government is pulling all stops to ensure that event is successful.

Mamallapuram is one of the top tourist destinations in Tamil Nadu attracting lakhs of foreign tourists every year. The magnificent Shore Temple, Arjuna’s Penance, one of the Group of Monuments declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, Krishna’s Butterball, and Five Rathas are major tourist attractions in the coastal town.