Amit Shah Karnal Padyatra November 5: Drones Banned and Red Zone Declared as Security Tightened
Karnal district administration has tightened security ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Karnal on November 5, with a complete ban on drone flights and a temporary red zone declared around the programme venues for November 4 and 5. District Magistrate Anand Kumar Sharma has issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, declaring the programme venue and the surrounding 500-metre area a temporary red zone for the two days. Under the order, flying drones or any other unmanned aerial vehicles will not be permitted within a one-kilometre radius of every location associated with the visit on November 4 and 5. Superintendent of Police Karan Goel has said the police department has made elaborate arrangements to maintain law and order and ensure security throughout the visit.
The security review has been completed at the highest level in the district. The Commandant of VIP Security, accompanied by his team and local administration officials, conducted a thorough inspection of all points from the helipad to the programme venue, while Inspector General of Police, Karnal Range, Ashwin Shenvi also reviewed the arrangements. Officials held a coordination meeting with officers after the inspection and gave final touches to the preparations. Deputy Commissioner Anand Kumar Sharma has said Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and other members of the state Cabinet will be present on the occasion, along with local public representatives, underlining the importance the state government attaches to the visit.
Shah will lead the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ padyatra in Karnal on November 5. The march is the BJP’s counter to the campaign launched by the Congress and other opposition parties over alleged ‘vote chori’ in connection with the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the functioning of the Election Commission. The party says the campaign is aimed at defending democratic institutions and the electoral process and at taking its case directly to the people, and the Karnal march marks the culmination of the first phase of the nationwide programme, which runs until November 5, with a second phase scheduled from November 11 to November 30.
Preparations in Karnal city have been in full swing for several days. The Sector 12 ground, located near Super Mall and Harsha K3C Mall, has been identified as the venue for the programme, and the march is planned to finish at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk. The Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran has been laying tiles on the ground to make the venue permanent and ensure proper arrangements, while the Karnal Municipal Corporation has undertaken tree trimming along the route and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has worked to streamline and secure overhead electricity wires. BJP leaders, including state president Archana Gupta, district president Parveen Lather, Karnal MLA and padyatra convener Jagmohan Anand, Mayor Renu Bala Gupta and Assandh MLA Yogendra Rana, have reviewed the arrangements in recent days, and organisational meetings at the mandal level have been held to mobilise party workers and assign responsibilities for a large turnout.
After Karnal, Shah is scheduled to travel to Ambala Cantonment later on November 5 to inaugurate the martyrs’ memorial dedicated to the heroes of India’s 1857 uprising, before addressing a rally. The Karnal programme therefore forms part of a full day of high-profile engagements in Haryana for the Union Home Minister, with the state government, the district administration and the BJP organisation all working together on the arrangements. For residents of Karnal, the practical message of the latest orders is clear: the red zone and the drone ban remain in force through November 5, security arrangements are in place across the route and venues, and the administration has completed its final checks ahead of Shah’s arrival.
