Worry about cost, ignore 3-month-old police circular issued after blast

Soon after the German Bakery blast on February 13, the police had issued a circular to all hotels, restaurants, schools and hospitals in the city, asking them to beef up security and get CCTV cameras installed.
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Hospitals and five-stars agreed, but other restaurants and schools had issues over the expenses involved.

Here's a look at the security measures in place three months after the blast at the popular Koregaon Park joint.

Hotels

Most major hotels in the city seem to have taken the police circular seriously, installing high-end detectors, revolving cameras, and even gadgets such asu00a0 boom barriers.

Restaurants

Ganesh Shetty, president of the Pune Restaurants and Hotels Association, said only two in 10 restaurants could afford the security gadgets.
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"There are 1,500 restaurants, of which barely 250 might be Grade One, able to afford the expensive gadgets. Only posh restaurants or popular joints are doing it," said Shetty.

At Koregaon Park's 1 Lounge bar, general manager Ashwin Doijode said: "We have cameras and metal detectors."

Schools

After the circular against fee hike passed by the state education department, schools that have been asked to upgrade their security are citing paucity of funds and saying now they can not even pass on the additional expense to parents.

At Rosary School, a circular was issued to parents to contribute Rs 100 for cameras and other infrastructure, while St Mary's school was manually scanning 2,700 schoolbags daily.

Temples

Temples and religious institutions have been raising their level of security. A few temples that have installed cameras are Sarasbaug's Ganesh temple, Chatushrungi temple and Parvati temple.

Hospitals

Most hospitals either have or are soon to install the security equipment recommended.

(With inputs from Shree Lahiri and Vivek Sabnis)