Chandigarh News: UT administration for securing buildings

Clearly stunned out of its slumber after the Mumbai mayhem of last week, the UT administration has in an unprecedented security move asked the police to give video records and layouts of all important city structures and buildings.

Figuring on top of the list are the Punjab and Haryana secretariat, Punjab and UT police headquarters, defence audit department, high court and civil secretariat. There are also important hotels -- Taj, Mountview and Shivalikview -- which need to furnish this information.

"The recent attacks in Mumbai have forced us to review these buildings in view of the present security and further steps that can be taken for ramping up arrangements," sources in UT's architecture department told TOI on Thursday.

Confirming the order, ASP (central) Madhur Verma said officials concerned along with hotel staff would be trained to handle security apparatus and equipment.

A senior administrative official added that the police department would be filing its findings in the next four-five days and required steps would be taken thereafter. He said, "Though some of the buildings already have security in the form of paramilitary forces, we want to explore what more we can do regarding this."

On their part, the management committees of big hotels here have already purchased a number of security equipment and are training staff on their use. The TOI had recently reported how city's Taj hotel had made investments of around Rs 35 lakh in an attempt to intensify security, coming as it did after Ratan Tata said in Mumbai that there would be no stinginess as far as safety of guests were concerned.

This comes even as UT IG SK Jain in a recent order instructed installation of CCTVs at all vital points of Chandigarh while making a special request to the managements of PGI, GMCH-32 and GMH-16 to do the needful.

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