The detailed schedule for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Kochi Metro on June 17 will be finalised at a meeting to be held in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
The Special Protection Group (SPG) had on Friday chosen the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor as the venue for the event.
Though KMRL is keen on organising the function in the morning and had readied a tentative schedule, the time has not been finalised yet. Though initial reports said Mr. Modi might travel in the metro in the entire 13-km-long Palarivattom-Aluva corridor, sources said he might alight the metro after covering a few stations. The PMO will have a final say on all these aspects.
Watermark Event Solutions was chosen as the firm to coordinate and ready the infrastructure for hosting the event. Meanwhile, a meeting chaired by District Collector K. Mohammed Y. Safirulla on Saturday reviewed the security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit.
According to the tentative programme, Mr. Modi will arrive in a special flight at the Naval Airport in Willingdon Island. He will meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues at the Guest House at the Naval Base or in the city. He will then leave for the metro’s inaugural at Kaloor stadium. Around 3,500 guests are expected to attend the programme. The event-management firm will ready the venue, supervised by the PWD. While details of workers have been passed on to the police, the cameras installed at the locale will keep a tab on them.
Steps will be taken to prevent flooding on the premises and to streamline parking. Repair works will be carried out on the Naval Base-Kaloor Road.
Apart from the General Hospital, directions will be issued to all hospitals in the corridor to be ready to cater to any emergency. Directions have already been given to the Fire and Rescue Services Department, Kochi Corporation, GCDA, and the food safety wing to be on the alert.
City Police Commissioner M.P. Dinesh and Deputy Commissioner of Police Yatish Chandra attended the meeting.
Police inspect stadium
In view of the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi on June 17 to inaugurate the Metro Rail project, a team led by P.Vijayan, Inspector General of Police, Kochi Range, inspected the international stadium in Kaloor and its premises on Saturday.
Officials said the team had inspected the aspects of VIP arrival and vehicle parking, among others. Sources said the police might ask the Kochi Metro Rail Limited to erect LED lamps at key junctions in Kochi ahead of Mr. Modi’s arrival.
