By IANS
Hyderabad : A thick security blanket has been thrown here for the 58th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2007) beginning Monday, which will be addressed by Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams and former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
Elaborate security arrangements are in place around the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) here, the venue for the five-day event.
Besides Williams and Kalam, India’s first and the only astronaut Rakesh Sharma will also be present at the meet. Over 2,000 delegates, including space scientists, heads of leading space agencies and astronauts, will attend the congress.
This is the first international conference being held in the city after the Aug 25 twin blasts, and in view of the warning by intelligence agencies of likely more terrorist strikes in the city, the police and the security agencies have been on high alert.
Two near simultaneous bomb blasts at a park and a popular eatery on Aug 25 claimed 44 lives and left 54 others injured. Earlier, on May 18, a blast at the historic Mecca Masjid in the old city killed nine people.
The Cyberabad Police, in whose jurisdiction the HICC comes, have taken steps to provide round-the-clock security to the delegates, especially the foreigners.
About 500 policemen have been deployed around the convention centre, the Hyderabad International Exhibition Centre (HITEX), and the adjacent Novatel Hotel, authorieis said.
Every vehicle entering the complex is being checked by the policemen and security personnel, who are also maintaining tight vigil. Metal detectors and other sophisticated gadgets to check the baggage have been installed at the entrances to the convention centre.
The security agencies had some relief as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not coming to inaugurate the Congress as originally scheduled. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan will inaugurate the event.
However, the police are not taking any chances as delegates from 45 countries – including heads of space agencies, NASA scientists, policy makers, regulators, global industry professionals from aerospace and allied industries – are attending the congress.
“We have made all necessary arrangements. Nobody will be into the convention centre without the security badges provided by the organizers,” said a police official.
The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) is organizing the event in association with the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), International Institute of Space Law (IISL), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Astronautical Society of India (ASI).
“Half of the delegates have already arrived in the city and they are staying at about a dozen hotels in the city, including the one adjacent to the venue,” said an official from the IAF.
The Hyderabad police have also made security arrangements around other star hotels, where the delegates are staying.
This communally sensitive city is already on high alert in view of the ongoing Ganesh and Ramadan festivities. The Ganesh festival will conclude Tuesday with a massive immersion procession, which brings the city to a grinding halt every year. More than 15,000 policemen are being deployed for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the procession.
Since the venue of the IAC is near Hitec City, almost on the outskirts, the organizers hope the immersion procession of Lord Ganesh will have no impact on the event.
The organizers said they were making all arrangements to ensure that the delegates staying in hotels in various parts of the city face no inconvenience in reaching the conference venue.