Agencies
New Delhi, Apr 17:
Guarded by as many as 17,000 security personnel, the Beijing Olympic torch was taken through a 2.3 km stretch in the national Capital today with Tibetans protesting in various places in the country.
For over five hours, the majestic Rajpath was turned into a security fortress with the Prime Minister's office and Ministries of Defence, External Affairs and Finance lining the torch route from Rashtrapati Bhavan shut down.
The truncated run that lasted for about 40 minutes was smooth and incident free.
With a three-layered security ring akin to Republic Day arrangements in place, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit handed over the Olympic flame to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi after it was lit by vice-chairman of Beijing Olympics Organising Committee Jiang Yu with the imposing Rashtrapati Bhavan forming the backdrop.
'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh, one of India's greatest athletes, had the honour to lead the relay before the torch changed hands with nearly 70 celebrites including sportsmen, film stars and politicians taking short runs culminating at the India gate.
Sportsmen Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, Aslam Sher Khan, Dhanraj Pillay, Zafar Iqbal, Wilson Cherian, Khazan Singh, K Malleswari, K Kunjurani, Bishen Singh Bedi were among others who took part in the event. The tinsel industry was represented by Aamir Khan and Saif Ali Khan.
Around 60 Tibetans were detained as they attempted to block roads and entered into minor clashes with police in various parts of the city.
The India leg of the torch relay is considered one of the most sensitive in its global voyage as the country is home to about one lakh exiled Tibetans, who organised a wave of protests against Chinese crackdown in Lhasa.
With the area in and around Rajpath out of bounds, hundreds of Tibetans took out a parallel torch relay run from Rajghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, to Jantar Mantar, which has been the epicentre of Tibetan protests over the past several days.
The torch was lit at Rajghat after an inter-religion prayer meeting and the large number of Tibetans, who had assembled there, took a pledge to ensure that the torch, which "signified the freedom of Tibet and humanity", keeps on burning. The protesters carried Tibetan flags, placards and banners with messages such as "Azad Tibet, Surakshit Bharat" and "Free Tibet".
In Mumbai, 45 Tibetans including nine women were detained after they attempted to hold a protest rally near the Chinese Consulate located in the business district of Nariman Point, police said.
In Bangalore, which is home to a large number of Tibetans, there were protests with several of them taking out a procession from Banappa park to central MG road.
Relay disrupts RS proceedings!
New Delhi: Massive traffic disruptions caused by the Olympic flame relay down the Rajpath had a reflection in Parliament too when Rajya Sabha proceedings were held up this afternoon due to lack of quorum.
The Upper House was to resume sitting at 1500 hours after an hour long lunch recess, but for 15 minutes, the House could not be called to order as the minimum numbers of members required were not there.
Apparently, the members who live in nearby South Avenue went home for lunch, only to find the entire stretch of Rajpath blocked by security personnel to ensure a trouble free run of the Olympic torch.
Under the rules of business, a minimum of 25 per cent of the effective strength of the house forms the quorum and when the House assembled there were hardly nine members and two of these were Ministers Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy.
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