With the Chennai Super Kings set to play their first match at the MA Chidambaram stadium, their home stadium, on Tuesday, the city police are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that no untoward incident take place due to tensions stemming from the Cauvery dispute.
According to a senior city police officer, at least 4,000 police personnel will be on duty in and around Chepauk to keep an eye on the situation.
Apart from the match venue, heavy security has been deployed in hotels on Chamiers Road and Ethiraj Salai, where the two teams — Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders — are staying.
A police press release said that apart from the Additional Commissioner of Police, South, and his two joint commissioners, as many as 13 deputy commissioners, seven additional deputy commissioners, 29 assistant commissioners and 100 inspectors will be part of the 3-tier security system. A commando team and a quick response team will be also deployed to make sure that the match is conducted in a peaceful manner. Traffic-related issues will be handled by the Additional Commissioner of Police, Traffic, and his team, the press release added.
As of now, there are no traffic restrictions.
After local political parties issued threats, the Chennai police issued conditions to fans who will be in the stadium to watch the match on Monday. Banners and flags are banned in the stadium, and spectators have been requested not to bring bags, jholas, mobile phones, briefcases, pagers, radios, digital diaries, laptops, computers, tape-recorders, binoculars, remote control devices, remote control car-keys or any other electronic devices, musical instruments, video cameras and digital cameras.
Political groups in Tamil Nadu have demanded that Chennai should not host any IPL matches in solidarity with the ongoing agitation for the formation of the Cauvery River Management Board. On Sunday, actor turned politician Rajinikanth said that CSK player should wear a black badge to show their support for the cause.