PM’s visit to Coimbatore: 3,000 cops deployed as city gears up for South India Organic Farmers’ summit
Chennai, Nov 18 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Coimbatore on Wednesday for the South India Organic Farmers’ Summit has triggered one of the largest security deployments in recent years, with over 3,000 police personnel stationed across the city.
The South India Organic Farmers’ Summit, a major three-day convention, will begin on Wednesday at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex. The Prime Minister will inaugurate the event, which will run until November 21.
During the ceremony, he will honour 18 top-performing organic farmers for their achievements in sustainable agriculture.
The summit is expected to draw more than 50,000 organic farmers from across the southern states.
As per the official schedule, Prime Minister Modi will arrive at the Coimbatore International Airport at 1.25 p.m. on Wednesday in a private aircraft from Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh. BJP leaders and cadres are preparing to give him a grand reception at the airport.
From there, he will proceed by road and reach the Codissia Arena at 1.40 p.m. to inaugurate the summit.
Following the event, the Prime Minister will depart at 3.15 p.m. and return to the airport by 3.30 p.m. to board his flight to New Delhi.
With the high-profile visit and large turnout expected at the summit, authorities have imposed sweeping security measures across Coimbatore.
The Codissia complex has been brought under the control of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and parking at the Coimbatore airport has been suspended from Tuesday until 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
Traffic diversions have been rolled out along Avinashi Road, one of the city’s busiest arterial stretches. Buses and heavy vehicles arriving from Salem, Erode, and Tiruppur will not be permitted to use the airport route and must instead enter the city via Ondipudur and Singanallur.
On Wednesday, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., entry of all vehicles, including taxis, into the airport will be completely restricted.
Passengers have been instructed to reach the airport before noon and those arriving later must disembark at Chitra Junction and walk to the terminal.
The G.D. Naidu flyover will remain closed during the same time period, while heavy vehicle entry into the city will be blocked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
The drone-flying ban, already in place in many city zones, has been expanded to include Singanallur, Chinniyampalayam, SIHS Colony, Nehru Nagar, Kalapatti, Codissia campus, Peelamedu, Saravanampatti, Ramanathapuram, and Race Course.
These areas will remain red zones until 7 p.m. on Wednesday. As the city braces for the Prime Minister’s arrival and the massive gathering of farmers, Coimbatore is witnessing a full-scale security operation to ensure a smooth and incident-free event.
—IANS
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