Around 130,000 security personnel will be deployed as India hosts the world’s most powerful leaders at the G20 summit in New Delhi this month.
The two-day summit, which begins on September 9, will feature the most high-profile guests India has ever hosted, including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman.
Leaders from Japan, Australia, France, and Germany are all scheduled to attend, though Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been chastised by the West for his role in the Ukraine conflict, has stated that he will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The heads of the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization will also be in attendance.
The event will take place in the enormous, restored Pragati Maidan, a conference and exhibition center in the heart of one of the world’s most populous cities.
“This is a historic and momentous moment”, said Dependra Pathak, a special commissioner of the Delhi Police in charge of the city’s security plans.
To preserve peace and order, he claimed, thousands of personnel from various government security services, including home guards and the paramilitary Border Security Force, would be deployed.
“We will have an adequate and robust police presence to contain protests and gatherings”, he added.
While Pathak is in charge of security in the city, the main venue will be secured by a squad led by another special commissioner of the Delhi Police, Ranvir Singh Krishna.
Although the city is largely tranquil, communal tensions flared out in the neighboring industrial district of Gurugram last month, killing at least seven people.
Officials indicated that during the weekend meeting, New Delhi’s borders will be heavily secured, and access to the city will be restricted.
The government of the city of 20 million is preparing a partial shutdown during the summit, with schools, government departments, and businesses asked to remain closed for three days.
According to officials, the city will be guarded by approximately 130,000 security officers, including the 80,000-strong Delhi Police.
The Indian military, including the Air Force, as well as the Delhi Police and paramilitary forces, would deploy anti-drone equipment to avoid any airborne threats, according to the officials. A total of 400 firefighters will be on standby.
At the location, security control rooms are being set up, and extra security procedures have been planned at prominent hotels such as the ITC Maurya Hotel, where Biden will stay.
Prime Minister Modi has turned India’s year-long presidency of the G20 into a national event, with several G20 meetings being held in major sections of the country, including far-flung Arunachal Pradesh state and Srinagar, Kashmir.
Throughout the year, G20 advertisements have been plastered on roadways, airports, bus stops, parks, railway stations, government offices, and government media.
In July, Prime Minister Modi dedicated a $300 million site in the capital to host the G20 summit meeting, a conch shell-shaped structure that can seat more than 3,000 people.
The government has also rented 20 bullet-proof limousines for politicians at a cost of 180 million Indian rupees ($2.18 million). Many world leaders travel with their own bodyguards and vehicles.
A government official stated that India has asked countries to be rational in terms of the quantity of cars and personnel they bring, but has not imposed any restrictions.
The official added that the U.S. is bringing in over 20 planes over the course of a week to support the summit.
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