As the day nears for the swearing-in ceremony of Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann as Punjab Chief Minister, preparations are underway in full swing with the involvement of all officials from Chief Secretary to Director General of Police.
An area of nearly 100 acres is being used for the ceremony in Khatkar Kalan in Shaheed Bhagat Singh (SBS) Nagar district on March 16.
Speaking to ANI, A Venu Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary to Punjab Government, said four-five lakhs people are expected to attend the event.
"A seating arrangement for 1 lakh people has been done. More seats are being placed. The venue will be of 100 acres size-50 acres for the main event and 50 acres for parking," he said.
He also said that a travel advisory will be issued for the day for the general public in view of the ceremony.
Vishesh Sarangal, Deputy Commissioner, SBS Nagar said that "micro-level" planning has been done for basic facilities like drinking water, sanitation, medical emergency services etc.
"A high-level meeting was held with the Chief Secretary, Punjab DGP and other senior officials to plan the event at a micro-level," he said. The Deputy Commissioner also said that civil and police officers from various districts have been deployed here.
On the security of the event, he said, 8,000 to 10,000 police personnel will be deployed. "DGP has said that more security personnel will be provided if needed," Sarangal added.
"As per protocol, three stages will be set up. There would be total of eight parking places - divided into different sectors," he said.
The Aam Admi Party (AAP) bagged a landslide victory in the Punjab Assembly elections. Mann, who was the party's Chief Ministerial candidate, will take the oath on March 16 at the freedom fighter Bhagat Singh's native village, Khatkar Kalan. Mann has invited Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal to the oath-taking ceremony.
According to AAP sources, apart from Kejriwal, no other Chief Minister of any state will be present in the swearing-in of Bhagwant Mann. Similarly, no Union Minister or any big leader of the national level has been invited for this oath-taking ceremony. Only AAP leaders and local leaders of Punjab will be present at the swearing-in ceremony.
Sources said current caretaker Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has also not been invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Mann. However, all 117 MLAs have been invited to the ceremony. Further, the family and people close to Bhagwant Mann have been invited. These include several artists associated with Punjab.
Earlier on Monday, Mann invited people of Punjab to come to the swearing-in ceremony through a video message.
Mann, who was contesting from Dhuri assembly constituency in Sangrur district, won by a margin of 58,206 votes over Congress' Dalvir Singh Goldy.
AAP registered a landslide victory in the Punjab polls with 92 seats, pushing most of its rivals to the margins. Congress had won 18 seats in the 117-member Assembly.
( With inputs from ANI )
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