Raj Bhavan wall raised to check trespassers

bangalore: as a security measure, theheight of the compound wall is being raised at the raj bhavan to preventtrespassers from entering the residence of the karnataka governor. theconstruction began after the police were informed about attempts at breaking in.raj bhavan authorities told the police recently that a few persons scaled overthe short walls and entered the premises. but security personnel, who are guardson deputation from the armed police, could not track down the trespassers in the18-acre wooded area. governor v.s. ramadevi and her family reside on the firstfloor of this stately building, while the ground floor rooms are routinelyoccupied by the visiting dignitaries -- the president, the prime minister andstatesmen from other countries. dgp and igp v.v. bhaskar, city policecommissioner h.t. sangliana and other senior police officers held a high-levelmeeting on the security threat to the raj bhavan and decided on a higher levelof security. the fallout of the meeting was the decision to increase the wallheight. the walls will also have steel barricades fixed on top. police sourcesreckoned that they would be passive onlookers if a determined attacker lodgedhimself inside the raj bhavan which has a plenty of spots to hide. this issue isserious as many dignitaries are seen talking walks on the sprawling lawns. thepublic works department had been assigned the work of raising the height of thecompound walls, government sources said. the raj bhavan was originally theofficial residence of the resident of mysore. in the post-independence era, thebangalore palace was the residence of karnataka governor, who was then the kingof mysore. thereafter, state governors have always functioned from here. the rajbhavan has two main entrances -- one from the vidhan soudha side and the fromthe all india radio office. both entrances have a huge number of guards. thenumber of guards was increased after parliament was attacked in december lastyear. the police have also suggested more measures for the safety of raj bhavan,but were not revealed for obvious security reasons. v.v. bhaskar said, ``we aretaking every precaution. the security here will be on par with the bestavailable in the country.''''