[embee]

As per NDTV news,
The capital will turn into a virtual fortress for US President Barack Obama's visit this weekend with heightened security measures including an extended no-fly zone to protect the world's most powerful leader.

Air Force One will touch down at about 10 am on Sunday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The President will be received by Piyush Goyal, designated as the Minister-in-Waiting for President Obama's trip.

POTUS will then use his armored limousine, known as the Beast, and drive to Rashtrapati Bhawan . He is likely to briefly travel on the Gurgaon-Delhi highway, cross the usually busy intersection at Dhaula Kuan, move along Sardar Patel Marg , passing the Maurya Sheraton hotel where he will stay.



Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/fo...-lateststories

[Jeroen]

Years ago the then USA President Bill Clinton visited my home country the Netherlands. It was impossible to travel anywhere near the roads he was supposed to be on. Motorway between The Hague and Rotterdam was completely shut down in both directions. Then Bill decides he wants to have some real Dutch pancakes in a restaurant in Delft, a small town just south of The Hague. So all of Delft goes into lockdown as well.

Just dont' be anwyhere near where Obama is likely to be travelling!

Jeroen

[embee]

Hi Jeroen,

You are absolutely right. It's going to be a problem for commuters.

US President Barack Obama will be reaching India on January 25 for a three-day state visit. Here's what the US president will be doing in the three days during his India visit.

January 25, 2015
US President Barack Obama arrives at 10am
Ceremonial welcome ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan
Obama to lay wreath and pay homage at Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat
Bilateral discussions at Hyderabad House: The two leaders will first have a restricted meeting, followed by delegation-level talks over lunch
PM Modi to host lunch for President Obama
Meeting and dinner hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee

January 26, 2015
Obama to be chief guest at Republic Day function
Will attend At-home reception of President Pranab Mukherjee
Obama and Modi will address events with business leaders during the afternoon.

January 27, 2015
Will address a select gathering in the morning
Visit to Agra to see the Taj Mahal with Michelle Obama
Depart from New Delhi

=> During POTUS visit to Agra, it's almost going to be like a war type lock-down... Cops have already sanitized the whole place. Rumors suggest they are going to close the expressway for a brief period of time.


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/45978914.cms

[joe1980]

I wish they did this not only for Obama's visit but right through the year to help keep the city clean!

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/f...ome-topstories

I really pity for the workers doing this!

[mpksuhas]

While it is this security talk is understandable to an extent due to threats to visiting president, I guess it is mostly a media hype.

Take a look at the steps -
Multi-layer security around Rajpath -- Well, this is the case in all Republic day celebration.
No-Fly zone around Rajpat -- Same as above.
Anti- Aircraft guns -- Same as above.
Blocking of hotels -- Same when any head of state travels.

Yes, agreed that for us motor enthusiasts it gives lots of news feed about Airforce1 and the beast.

[RedTerrano]

The Beast might be impressive when it comes to security, but I wish it had more styling! I know I know it is not meant to look good, but to protect. Does anyone have any authentic information on the Air Force One? Is it really the same inside like they show in the movies?

[embee]

Rajpath will have about 165 CCTV cameras, which means a camera every 180 meters. 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.

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.



Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/fo...rajpath-650908





Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/b.../1/413874.html

Security agencies previously enforced a no-fly zone with a radius of 300 km (190 miles), but it will be extended to 400 km this year, covering cities such as Jaipur in the west, and Agra, home to the famed Taj Mahal, and extending to the border with regional rival Pakistan.

"The no-fly zone has been extended around Delhi ... no civil aircraft can take off or land during that time," said one Indian security official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the security details.

While a no-fly zone bars commercial flights during the two-hour procession the programme wraps up with a fly-past by military planes.







Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/0...0KV10120150122

[joe1980]

Seems like most of the post's here are just trying to recap what's being announced in the news around the security measures. If you have a time to look at the news article that I cited which points to the cleaning of the streets of Agra! Why does this not happen in all the cities all the time and happen not just during some high profile visits to the country! I'm just wondering!

[embee]

Hi joe1980,

You are absolutely right. These thing happen only when top foreign dignitaries are coming for their high profile, highly publicized and highly documented and visits only.

Noting that the government had installed 15,000 CCTV cameras in Delhi for the visit of US President Barack Obama, the Delhi High Court stated that the government had “not acted so fast” when it came to the security of citizens. “Because of a foreign president, you do it, but not for Indian citizens. If we direct you to do it for Indians, you do in months and years, else you do it in weeks."

[embee]

Hi RedTerrano,

Posting some pictures regarding Air Force One.


Google Images


http://staff.pausd.org/~cbly/1web_de...an/travel.html


Google Images


Also you can find more pictures at http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/special/AF1/

[heydj]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Years ago the then USA President Bill Clinton visited my home country the Netherlands. It was impossible to travel anywhere near the roads he was supposed to be on. Motorway between The Hague and Rotterdam was completely shut down in both directions. Then Bill decides he wants to have some real Dutch pancakes in a restaurant in Delft, a small town just south of The Hague. So all of Delft goes into lockdown as well.

Just dont' be anwyhere near where Obama is likely to be travelling!

Jeroen

I recently returned from the Netherlands after finishing MBA from Rotterdam School of Management. While there the Dutch Prime Minister came to the college for a lecture. I was highly impressed the way he traveled from Den Haag to Rotterdam, absolutely no inconvenience to the common people!

[vnabhi]

Similar clamp down measures were enforced in Hyderabad way back in 2006 when George Bush Jr visited Hyderabad.

He was supposed to stay in Kakatiya Sheraton at Begumpet, but only his security dogs stayed in those 5-star rooms!

One of our newspapers also had an amusing story. It said the dogs were ranked as 'Lieutenant' or 'Captain', and that we should thank God that our cops did not have to salute them!

I have the privelege of viewing all flights landing at Begumpet from my balcony, though the distance is around 3 kms as the crow flies. I deliberately went late to work that day only to have a glimpse of Air Force 1 landing. There were two identical planes that landed, and I'm not sure which one was the decoy.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by heydj

I recently returned from the Netherlands after finishing MBA from Rotterdam School of Management. While there the Dutch Prime Minister came to the college for a lecture. I was highly impressed the way he traveled from Den Haag to Rotterdam, absolutely no inconvenience to the common people!

He travels to parliament by bicycle and so do many MPs and ministers do so as well, or they take public transportation. Years ago, whilst we still lived in the Netherland my wife was shopping in the Hague. She accidentally bumped into a lady, turned out to be then queen Beatrix who was doing a bit of shopping herself.

At this day and age it can not be helped that these sort of public figures do need additional protection and security, but in the Netherland it can be done in a relatively low key way. The Dutch don't like authoritative figures, have little notion on hierarchy. We have an expression, "doe maar gewoon, dan doe je al gek genoeg". Roughly translate as, just be yourself, that is peculiarly enough.

Mind you, I saw a documentary some time ago and it is just mind boggling the amount of threads the American President gets on a typical day. Cant blame them for taking all these measure. Although it does beg the question why the leader of the greatest nation in the world needs protection from so many people.

Jeroen

[embee]

This time also,as the news states, the so called dog "officers" of the elite K-9 squad of the US Secret Service, one of whom was also on the mission to neutralize Osama bin Laden are here in the capital ahead of US president's visit.

Most of them are one-foot-tall Belgian Malinois dogs (costs around $9,000) and they will be staying in style — in suites of a five-star hotel ( i think Maurya Sheraton) with their handlers. The squad is an integral part of Obama's security apparatus and will be in the core security layer, tasked with sanitizing everything in the 100-meter vicinity of the president. They will be taking control of Rajpath and the area around Maurya Sheraton, where the president will be staying. Officers say the dogs have been trained to sniff out even the most minute traces of explosives.



Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/45972938.cms

[vinair]

Look at the car's dimensions! Those huge tires and the doors seems to come from a bank vault!!