The national capital has been brought under a ground-to-air security cover in view of the Republic Day celebrations and the visit of 10 ASEAN leaders for a high-profile summit here, a senior police official said today.

Thousands of armed personnel have been keeping a tight vigil for Republic Day in Delhi and in border areas of the city to ensure a smooth passage of the celebrations tomorrow. Additional security personnel will be deployed on high-rises with anti-aircraft guns, the official said. CCTV cameras have been installed and control rooms have been set up to monitor the feed from the cameras. Police officials were maintaining a tight vigil at strategic points.

All market places have been put on alert and Delhi Police teams were carrying out security audits. The police has deployed dog squads in key market areas. Leaves of police personnel have been cancelled, the official said.

High security

The entire central and New Delhi region will have nearly 50,000 security personnel drawn from the Delhi Police and the central security forces. Several security layers have been put in place and Delhi Police personnel along with paramilitary and NSG commandos have been deployed. The visiting ASEAN leaders, after attending an ASEAN summit here today, will be the chief guests at the Republic Day parade tomorrow.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a multilateral body, comprising Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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