Rameshwaram, July 17, 2013: After the recent serial bomb blasts at Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya in Bihar, security has been beefed up at the Sri Ramanathaswamy temple in the pilgrim centre of Rameswaram, even as an officer from the National Security Guards (NSG) visited the temple and checked the security arrangements on Tuesday. The NSG officer, Shajith Kumar, second in command from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), accompanied by District Superintendent of police N.M.Mylvahanan visited the temple and conducted a security survey as part of his visits to various important temples. Mr Mylvahanan said following intelligence reports that the iconic temple could be a target for terror attack after the serial blasts in the temple town of Bodh Gaya, security has been beefed up by installing four Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMD) at all the four main entry points and two speed dome cameras at two points for a 360 degree surveillance.

He said the DFMDs have been installed at western and eastern entries and at the Amman Sannadhi and Theertham entry points and all those visiting the temple, including pilgrims from various other parts of the country were made to pass through the metal detectors. Besides two speed dome cameras have been installed, each at the eastern gate and Amman Sannadhi for surveillance of any suspicious movement of people around the temple, he said. These cameras could revolve 360 degree and could be controlled and rotated by a track system. The cameras were connected to CCTV in a single monitor cabin and monitored by an in-charge officer, the SP said.

The SP, who reviewed the security arrangements in the temple on Sunday, said a posse of 50 police personnel, some of them trained in bomb detection has been deployed around the temple. These personnel take positions right from 4 a.m. monitoring the movements of people around the temple and carry out anti-sabotage checks, the SP added. Apart from this, home guards and local police have also been pressed into service for crowd regulation and tackle other law and order issues, he added.

Source: The Hindu, DT. July 17, 2013.