Mysuru, Apr. 8 (GA&BS)- In preparation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mysuru, a convoy rehearsal was conducted last evening, which included the exclusive vehicles of the VVIP specially airlifted from New Delhi, Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel, and the City Police.

The Prime Minister will be arriving in Mysuru tonight at 8.40 via a special flight to Mysuru Airport at Mandakalli. He will then be driven to Hotel Radisson Blu Plaza on M.G. Road, where he will be staying overnight. The convoy rehearsal was conducted along the route from Mysuru Airport on the Mysuru-Nanjangud Road to M.G. Road to ensure that all necessary fool-proof arrangements are in place.

On Apr. 9 at 6.30 am, the Prime Minister is scheduled to travel by Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter from the temporary helipad at Oval Grounds city to the temporary helipad at Melukamanahalli in Bandipur, Chamarajanagar district.

Upon his return to Mysuru at 10.20 am, he will travel by road to the KSOU Convocation Hall on Hunsur Road for the inaugural session of the ‘Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger’ event, starting at 11 am.

To ensure the preparedness of the convoy, a rehearsal was conducted from Hotel Radisson Blu Plaza to Oval Grounds, passing through M.G. Road, Chamaraja Double Road, Ramaswamy Circle and JLB Road towards Hunsur Road, and then returning to the helipad at Oval Grounds.

The PM is expected to fly towards Mysuru Airport at 12.15 pm. The convoy will include vehicles of the Prime Minister, Special Protection Group (SPG) personnel, Police Commissioner’s vehicle and an ambulance, totalling over 30 vehicles.

As a precautionary measure, the SPG has conducted several inspections of the routes where the PM’s convoy passes through. The temporary barricades, in the form of bamboo poles, have already been installed on either side of the routes. These barricades will be guarded by the City Police to prevent any untoward incidents.

Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth, along with DCP (Law and Order) M. Muthuraj, DCP (Crime and Traffic) S. Jahnavi, and intelligence wing personnel, have also inspected the routes to ensure everything is in place for the PM’s visit.

No LPG cylinders at Bandipur

Precautionary measures have been taken at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Gundlupet for security purposes during the Prime Minister’s visit. The Chamarajanagar District Administration has ordered the closure of resorts and homestays in the forest vicinity, restricted the movement of heavy motor vehicles on the highways passing through the forest, and banned the flying of drones. In addition, the supply of LPG cylinders to the villages in forest fringes has been temporarily stopped.

The Namma Sangha LPG agency, run by Krupakar-Senani wildlife photographer duo, has closed its outlet at Melukamanahalli where the temporary helipad has been built for the landing of the PM’s chopper on Apr. 9.

Both filled and empty cylinders have been shifted to another branch of Namma Sangha at B. Matakere in Sargur taluk as a security measure. This move has largely affected the agency’s consumers, as the agency caters to about 40,000 consumers from 110 villages in and around Bandipur.

Tourism hit

The tourism industry in the Bandipur National Park region has been severely impacted due to the restrictions imposed by the district administration. Safari rides, resorts, and home stays were shut from Thursday (Apr. 6) itself, causing a major setback to the tourist operators who were hoping to cash in on the extended holidays starting from Good Friday (Apr. 7) to Sunday (Apr. 9).

The owners of resorts and homestays were instructed by the Police at the beginning of the week not to accept any online bookings or rent out their rooms. Customers who had booked their rooms a month in advance have been refunded their payments, as per the orders of the District Administration.

All set for PM’s fourth-time stay in Mysuru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be staying at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel in the city for the third time on his current visit, marking his fourth-time stay in Mysuru as Prime Minister. His first overnight stay at the hotel was on Feb. 18, 2018. During his previous visits on June 20, 2022 (also at Radisson) and January 2, 2016 (at Hotel Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel), the Prime Minister had stayed overnight in the city as well.

Preparations have been completed at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel where Modi is scheduled to arrive at about 9.15 pm from the Mysuru Airport. The multiple-layer security personnel and the Special Protection Group have already taken the hotel under its control.

Dog squad, bomb squad and anti-sabotage teams have sanitised the hotel and are keeping hawk-eye vigil to prevent any security lapse. This morning too, uniformed and safari-suit-clad security personnel were seen sanitising and securing the vicinity with high-tech equipment and protruding communication antennae and detection radars.

The surrounding roads of the Hotel too have been cleaned by Pourakarmika teams without leaving a speck on the road.

COVID test for attending PM’s events

Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to take necessary precautions to ensure the safety of the Prime Minister and everyone involved in his visit. As part of these measures, forest officers and staff who will be on duty during the PM’s visit were subjected to a COVID-19 test at Bandipur yesterday.

In addition to the COVID-19 test, the bomb squad also conducted inspections on the highway from the helipad at Melukamanahalli to the Forest Department office at Bandipur. These precautions are critical to ensuring a safe and secure visit for the Prime Minister.