Come Monday and state policemen will sweat it out. However, this time, it will be a different ground for them. Around 3,500 policemen of various ranks will join Khel Mahakumbh in individual and team events starting from Monday. Applications have poured in at various police headquarters. However, officials say that they were expecting more participation.

According to senior officials, the boost came when chief minister Narendra Modi appealed to policemen to participate in large numbers earlier this month in a conference. While a large number of policemen will take care of the security of the events being held at 12 centres across the state, personnel have expressed interest in events such as athletics, volleyball, football and kabaddi.

Vikas Sahay, director of sports authority of Gujarat and an IPS officer, said that they have got good response in terms of participation from police. “We have police teams in almost all the events, especially athletics. Though we don’t have the exact number, the participation is good,” he said.

UD Joshi, joint commissioner of police (headquarters), told TOI that from Ahmedabad city alone, around 400 personnel will take part in various events. “We have a sports culture and strong teams that participate regularly at national meets for police forces. In sports like cricket and hockey, we have won laurels in the past,” he said.

Meanwhile, the police stadium at Shahibaug has turned into a fortress in preparation of its grand opening ceremony on Saturday where athletes from all over the state will be flagged off by Modi to various districts to spread the message of the games and inviting participation. Source by The Times of India