Mumbai police is having a nightmarish week. It was present at every nook and corner of the city on Tuesday to ensure that the Ganesh immersions passed off peacefully. On Wednesday, it has to arrange security for the Twenty20 World Cup-winning Team India.
To add to their woes, the Men in Blue will arrive at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International terminal early Wednesday morning at 0800 hours, which means they will get no time to relax after the festivities.
"We are expecting a lot of people to turn up to welcome the Indian team. So, we have already barricaded the place. We don't want any commoner near them and therefore, we are taking all precautions," says Deputy Commissioner of Police R N Tadvi.
About 40,000-plus personnel of the Mumbai police are already working round-the-clock during the immersion procession of Lord Ganesh.
It is after 24-year-gap that the Indian cricket team has won a world cup. Team India will move around in the city in an open bus and there is bound to be a lot of fanfare. However, there has been no instruction from BCCI to Mumbai police so far that the players will travel in an open bus.
It is not known whether team India will take halts to stop and meet people on the way to Wankhede stadium, where they would be felicitate by Board of Control for Cricket in India President Sharad Pawar.
Pawar, however, has not made it clear whether he will turn up at the airport to meet the players.
"We have also stationed State Reserve Police for additional security. We don't want to damage the mood of jubilation with any untoward incident. At present, there is no plan of halts as far as we know," added Tadvi.
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