The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Is it Ferozeshah Kotla or `Fortla'?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 30, 2005

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Is it Ferozeshah Kotla or `Fortla'?

NEW DELHI, MARCH 29. Police in New Delhi plan to turn a cricket stadium into a fortress before Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf arrives to watch a match between India and Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Some 5,000 policemen and security personnel will guard the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on April 17 when the arch-rivals play the last and sixth one-day International scheduled to be watched by Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Police would also install electronic devices to jam radio signals, which can remotely detonate explosives, the Times Of India newspaper reported on Tuesday, quoting unnamed officials.

Security sources, however, have expressed concern about the condition of the stadium, which for the past two years has been undergoing a total overhaul and is still incomplete with upper spectator tiers still under construction.

"It would be a nightmare to try and plug every gap in the stadium but we can muster the manpower to manually control security matters," said the official from a federal security agency.

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit began keeping a close eye on round-the-clock preparations at the stadium after Musharraf's decision to visit India to watch one of the matches was confirmed.

"I am satisfied with the fact that things are going as per schedule," Dikshit told journalists during an inspection of the ground, located next to a Muslim-majority walled section of the Indian capital.

"Hosting an India-Pakistan match is a matter of great pride and honour for Delhi," she said, adding the 50,000-capacity stadium, which can seat around 30,000 spectators, will be ready for the match. — AFP

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