Chandigarh: Security has been beefed up in Chandigarh as well as adjoining Mohali district of Punjab since Sunday ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi's visit on August 24 when he is scheduled to inaugurate the Homi Bhabha Cancer and Research Centre at Mullanpur area of Mohali.
Stating that assembly of four or more persons had also been prohibited under Section 144 of the CrPC, an official spokesperson said that that the Mullanpur area would also be a ``no fly zone’’ along with the 2-km area around it where flying of drones would be prohibited till August 24.
It is pertinent to mention here that the elaborate security bandobust is also in the wake of an alert sounded by the Central agencies regarding a possible terrorist attack in the state. According to official information, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) could carry out terrorist attacks in Chandigarh and Mohali, especially at the crowded places such as bus stands and public places in the two cities.
It may also be recalled that during his visit to Punjab on January 5 this year, Modi’s cavalcade was disrupted, leaving him stranded on a flyover for over 15 minutes near Ferozepur, compelling cancellation of the visit then.
The police has thus strengthened security arrangements and carried out intensive checking of public transport vehicles at inter-state bus terminuses in Sector 43 and Sector 17 in Chandigarh besides stepping up vigil at the crowded places like malls in the two cities since Sunday.
For the record, Modi would first inaugurate Amrita Hospital at Faridabad in Haryana prior to visiting Mohali in Punjab. Managed by Mata Amritanandamayi Math, the super-specialty hospital would be equipped with 2600 beds. The hospital, which is being constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs 6,000 crore, would provide state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to the people of Faridabad and the entire National Capital Region (NCR).
In Mohali, the prime minister would dedicate the 300-bed Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre to the nation at Mullanpur, district Mohali. The Centre would cater to the needs of cancer care to the residents of Punjab and neighbouring states and Chandigarh. The Hospital has been built at a cost of over Rs 600 crore by Tata Memorial Centre, an aided institute under Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
