Security blanket spread over city....

Hyderabad, Aug 21 :

Unprecedented security arrangements have been put in place with a massive police force taking over the nook and corner of the State capital in view of Ramzan and the nine-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi festival beginning from Sunday.

More than 14,000 personnel from the neighbouring districts have been drafted for security arrangements to assist the 8,000-strong city police.

Talking to media persons on Friday, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Vara Prasada Rao said that the frisking, searching and checking appear to be the top priority duties of the police.

He said that 293 mobile patrol teams have been flagging down vehicles at random and subjecting commuters to checks irrespective of the time. The police identified 257 hypersensitive and 534 sensitive areas in the city. He said that the police registered 800 bindover cases on rowdy sheeters.

Watch towers, each of nearly 20-feet height, are being erected in the communally sensitive old city. A 10-member special team provided with binoculars, video cameras, wireless sets and mobile phones would be positioned on it to keep an eye on suspicious persons.