Obama security team visits Amritsar
By IANSThursday, September 16, 2010
AMRITSAR - Ahead of US President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November, an American team has surveyed various sites in Amritsar in Punjab.
“A six-member team inspected tourist spots, important roads and Sikh shrines” Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Police K.S. Pannu in Amritsar told IANS.
“But this is not a confirmation that Obama will come to Amritsar. After evaluating various parameters, they will decide places the president will actually go to. Now the team has left for Mumbai,” said Pannu.
The team, consisting of security personnel and officials of the US embassy in New Delhi, also visited the Harmandar Sahib, popularly known as the Golden Temple.
The team met officials of the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), which manages the Golden Temple and other Sikh shrines.
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar was enthusiastic about Obama’s visit. “We are very happy and all set to welcome Obama at the Golden Temple,” Makkar said late Wednesday.
He said if Obama came to Amritsar, he would be asked about increasing hate crimes in the US against Sikhs mistaken for Muslims.
