PMC hires 100 ex-servicemen; five to carry guns

This will be the first time that the civic body has hired gun-wielding security personnel, to be deployed at sensitive locations such as water tanks etc

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has hired 100 security personnel from the Maharashtra State Security Force (ex-servicemen), five of whom will carry guns. This will be the first time that the civic body has hired gun-wielding security personnel, to be deployed at sensitive locations such as water tanks etc.

According to PMC, the personnel will be deployed mainly for anti-encroachment drives. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Madhav Jagtap, head, PMC anti-encroachment department, said, “We have followed the initiative carried out by the Pimpri-Chinchwad counterpart that had hired ex-servicemen from the Maharashtra State Security Force. Our security personnel will resume duty this week.”

“Among the 100 security personnel, 77 are regular whereas 33 are restricted and will be deployed for various reasons or in the absence of regular security personnel,” Jagtap said.

According to PMC, the personnel will be deployed mainly for anti-encroachment drives. Earlier, the civic body used to seek the help of police to implement such exercise and failed to get their personnel for one or the other reason. In the absence of police personnel, citizens used to obstruct PMC staffers from carrying out the drive.

There have been three to four instances where hawkers attacked civic employees and prevented them from implementing the anti-encroachment drive. In other instances, PMC has had to delay the implementation of the drive in the absence of police personnel.