6 members of bomb squad, sniffer dog handler conduct thorough check of hill station hotels
6 members of bomb squad, sniffer dog handler conduct thorough check of hill station hotels
As the high alert sounded for New Year's Eve mentions tourist attractions Lonavla and Alibaug as places that need to be extra careful, the only Bomb Detection and Disposal Unit with the Pune Rural Police has temporarily changed its address to the hill station, a major party destination for city as well as Mumbai residents.
1.5 lakh tourists
The bomb disposal squad will remain stationed in Lonavla till the party crowd that has descended on the hill station to usher in the New Year retires to its usual office or business existence in the big cities after merrymaking over the weekend.
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| No stone unturned: The bomb disposal squad screens a hotel in Lonavla. Pic/Jignesh Mistry |
The mood in Lonavla, where 1.5 lakh tourists will be welcoming the New Year tonight, was celebratory with the town dressed in its best for the party weekend. And MiD DAY found that while tourists went about their usual business of having fun, the police were on their toes virtually all day.
A six-member team of the bomb squad along with the sniffer dog handler completed a thorough search of Lonavla hotels, including star hotels like Fariyas, Dukes, Lagoona, Kailash Prabhat and other popular destinations like Velvet Country and Kumar Resort.
The activity will continue through New Year's Eve, said bomb squad members. The police asked all 220 small and big hotels to take in people only after verifying their identity.
Rahul Kanungo, GM of Dukes, a five-star property in Khandala, said, "We have all the security gadgets in place. In addition we are going to videoshoot the entire event on New Year's Eve as a precaution."
Wellington Alfanso, general manager at Kailash Prabhat, said, "We are allowing families only after checking their identity. We have all the security gadgets in place. But Lonavla is a peace-loving city and we believe nothing will ever happen here."
Lonavla Senior Police Inspector Balraj Lanjile said, "The possibility of Lonavla being used as a terror hideout cannot be ruled out. So we are not taking any chances. We have made it compulsory for hotel owners to verify the identity of guests."
Watching bungalows According to the police, there are 1,500 bungalows in Lonavla and policemen on patrol have been instructed to keep a close eye on the occupants.
At all important entry points to Lonavala, including Valwan bridge, Khandala and Raiwood, the police are not allowing a single vehicle to enter the city without proper checking.
"We are checkingu00a0 luggage in each vehicle and keeping a tab on suspicious activities going on in the city," Lanjile said.
The Lonavala police have 70 policemen and have asked for 80 additional personnel. Policemen have been posted at all important chowks in the city to monitor the crowd coming in.
