By IRNA,
New Delhi : The Beijing Olympic torch arrived in New elhi late Wednesday night for the Delhi leg relay on Thursday . The torch was flown to the national capital in a specially designed flight from Islamabad.
About 30 Colourfully dressed children, both Indian and Chinese, received the flame amid unprecedented security. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi, the Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan and Chinese embassy officials were present at the airport on the occasion.
The torch will be carried through the 2 kilometer stretch between Rashtrapati Bhawan and India Gate from 1 PM onwards.
Security agencies have made strict security arrangements in the wake of anti-Chinese demonstrations by Tibetans in the national capital. The security for the relay torch was reviewed at a high level meeting last evening by the Home Secretary, Madhukar Gupta.
Earlier, the National Security Adviser, M K Narayanan had also taken stock of the security measures.
Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi says a total of 70 people, including 47 sportspersons will take part in the relay.
Meanwhile, despite heavy security arrangements, exiled Tibetans protested against the arrival of the Olympic torch in New Delhi early on Thursday morning. Around 30 Tibetans assembled this morning outside a hotel near the Rajpath where the Olympic torch is supposedly kept and shouted anti-China slogans.
Security forces, present on the scene, immediately chased them away and detained some of the protesters. Earlier, thirty-two Tibetans blocked the road near Army Research and Referral hospital near Dhaula Kuan in south West Delhi just before the arrival of the torch.
The government has deployed thousands of police for the Olympic torch relay, which is scheduled to be held later in the day. They also kept the time of the run a secret because of fears Tibetan protesters might try to disrupt the ceremony.
The protests have forced India to trim the route to a third of the original 9-km distance, restricting it to a high-security stretch used for the annual Republic Day parade in the capital.
India has been caught in a swirl of protests by exiled Tibetans since last month`s unrest in Tibet, and despite the Dalai Lama`s support for the Beijing Games, the protesters have vowed to disrupt the flame`s journey in New Delhi.
At least sixty Tibetan protesters were detained while trying to storm Chinese Consulate in Mumbai, business capital of India.
According to reports received from Nepal over 80 Tibetan refugees, who were demanding end to Beijing’s rule in Tibet, were arrested today for organizing protest in front of the tightly-guarded Chinese embassy in the Nepalese capital.
The protesters shouted slogans against China and demanded freedom for Tibet as they were bundled into vehicles by baton-wielding policemen.
The demonstrators were detained this afternoon while they were staging protest in front of the embassy, the police said.