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Special force to guard 17 regional airports in UP
The state police will raise a special force for the security of 17 regional airports across Uttar Pradesh, on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),
The state police will raise a special force for the security of 17 regional airports across Uttar Pradesh, on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards most of the international and national airports in the country.
The selection process for the force, which would have around 2,500 personnel from the existing police force, has already been initiated, said officials.
This process is being undertaken under the union government’s regional connectivity scheme, said IG (law and order) Praveen Kumar. As many as 17 regional airports of UP have been included under this scheme, he said.
In the first phase, the force would be deployed for the security of airports in Kanpur and Agra while 10 others would be covered in the second phase and five in the last phase.
The list of airports includes Kanpur, Agra, Bareilly, Prayagraj, Hindon (Ghaziabad), Moradabad, Jhansi, Shravasti, Myorpur (Sonebhadra), Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Meerut, Saharanpur, Ghazipur, Kushinagar and Ayodhya, he said.
Personnel of this special force would get training similar to that of CISF personnel. Experts of central forces would be roped in for the purpose, said the IG. “The state police have already set an example of professionalism by raising special security force for Metro rail stations in Lucknow. Similarly, efforts are on for a force to guard regional airports,” he emphasised.
A home department official confirmed that additional director general (security) Dipesh Juneja has been made in charge of the entire process.
Police personnel below 40 years of age will be given priority for selection. Around 250 cops are already handpicked for training while more applications are invited from those willing to become part of the specialised force, said officials.
