Commuters travelling towards central Delhi from the eastern parts of the national capital and Noida faced heavy traffic due to VIP movement towards and away from Rajghat on Monday. President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered floral tributes to the Father of the Nation at his memorial in Rajghat. According to police, those commuting via ITO, Pragati Maidan and Barapulla will face heavy traffic as these routes are completely choked. Taking to Twitter, the Delhi Traffic Police alerted commuters to avoid certain stretches. "Traffic is heavy on Vikas Marg, Ring Road near Rajghat due to special traffic arrangements. Kindly avoid the stretch," it tweeted. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also paid homage to the Mahatma at Rajghat.
Those provided Y category cover include Bihar Deputy CM Renu Devi, state BJP president and Paschim Champaran MP Sanjay Jaiswal, Bisfi MLA Haribhushan Thakur, Darbhanga MLA Sanjay Saraogi, others.
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman S Somanath has also been accorded a 'Y+' category security cover
Rane, the minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), has been enjoying central security cover of the lower Y-category since December last year
As many as 230 people are currently being provided security by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs)
The Special Protection Group, formed after Indira Gandhi's assassination, is the most comprehensive, with a current strength of over 3,000 officers and allocation of Rs 535 cr in FY20
This is the first full-scale review of VIP protectees by the Union home ministry after the Modi 2.0 government took charge
Anupriya Patel is the minister of state for health