Sunday 1 June 2008

Raj Bhavan gets High Security suites for PM and President

By Udumula Sudhakar Reddy
Exclusive high security suites for the President, Prime Minister and Vice President are being built in the Raj Bhavan guest house at a cost of Rs 3 crore.
They are being designed in such a way that snipers won’t be able to target the occupants from nearby high-rises. The Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), Mr Aravinda Rao, has cleared the construction in Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor, Mr N.D. Tiwari.
Lack of fortified places to put up visiting VVIPs has always troubled the police and the new suites will solve this problem.
The state government has released Rs 3 crore for building the suites and the secretary to the Governor has requested administrative sanction for taking up construction worth Rs 16.22 crore in the Raj Bhavan premises.
Earlier, the government had sanctioned Rs.4.88 crore for construction of an administrative block, officers’ residential complex, and new blocks for drivers.
A senior police officer said that there were initially some concerns about whether the suites of VVIPs could be targeted by snipers. “Later, the design was changed to prevent such attacks,” he said.
The Raj Bhavan is spread over 21.5 acres and is the first big halt for visiting VVIPs. It is also a heritage structure constructed in the 1930s. One of the earlier occupants of the building was Sir Akbar Hydari, the Prime Minister of the Nizam, from 1936 to 1941.
But he stayed here for a short period and shifted to an adjacent building which is now known as Dilkusha Guest House.

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