Delhi Tightens Security Ahead of BRICS Summit as Xi, Putin Set to Arrive
Delhi Police has deployed about 30,000 personnel and stepped up security at Chanakyapuri hotels ahead of the BRICS summit, with the Chinese and Russian presidents due to arrive this week.
Security has been tightened across the national capital ahead of the BRICS summit, with hotels in Chanakyapuri placed under a multi-layered guard and roughly 30,000 personnel deployed to cover the airport, accommodation sites and the main venue, Bharat Mandapam.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to land in India on September 11, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to arrive a day later. Both leaders are expected to touch down at the Air Force Station in Palam before moving to their hotels in Chanakyapuri.
Advance security teams from China and Russia have already taken up positions at the hotels where the two leaders will stay. These teams have brought advanced weapons and security equipment, and personnel have been positioned from the floors reserved for the presidents up to the rooftops and down to the ground floors.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has been assigned specific responsibility for the Chinese President's security. At the hotel expected to host the Russian President, an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police and two Assistant Commissioners of Police will be deployed in separate shifts.
As part of the preparations, police have verified every hotel employee, conducting checks both in Delhi and in the employees' home states. Both presidents are also expected to bring some of their own vehicles and convoy cars by aircraft.
Most foreign dignitaries attending the summit will be accommodated across different hotels in New Delhi. The Indonesian President, the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the Kazakh President, and Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister will share one hotel. The UAE Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, along with the Finance Ministers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and the Brazilian delegation, will stay at another.
The Russian President will be housed at a hotel along with VIP dignitaries from Bangladesh. The South African President will share a hotel with the President of Burundi, while the President of the Philippines, the Prime Minister of Vietnam, VIP dignitaries from Bolivia, and the Finance Ministers of Cuba and Uruguay will be put up together. The Iranian President is the only leader staying alone.
The Chinese President and the Belarus President will stay in the same hotel, while the Malaysian Prime Minister, Nigeria's Minister of State, Uganda's Vice-President and the UN Secretary-General will be accommodated together.
According to the schedule, heads of state and government are expected to reach Bharat Mandapam between 1.30 pm and 2.15 pm on September 12. The following day, they are expected to arrive at the venue between 8.50 am and 9.25 am. The UAE Crown Prince is likely to be the first leader to reach the venue on both days, while the Russian President is expected to arrive last, preceded by the Chinese President.
Russia and China are also expected to have the largest motorcades among the visiting delegations. The Traffic Police have finalised routes for dignitaries travelling to Bharat Mandapam, and several route rehearsals have already been carried out.
Of the roughly 30,000 personnel deployed for the summit, about half are from the Delhi Police and the rest from paramilitary forces. To improve coordination, the security grid has been divided into sectors, each headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police or an Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police.