Agencies
Srinagar, November 15:
The Central Industry Security Force (CISF) will take over the reins of ‘handling security’ at the three highly sensitive airports in Jammu and Kashmir region, possibly from January 1 next year, officials stated Wednesday, according to a PTI report.
The CISF administers the ‘security’ of all major airports in India and will soon take over in the region as well, according to the report.
The decision to deploy CISF personnel at Jammu and Srinagar airports, in place of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and at the Leh airport, replacing the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), was taken at a high-level meeting between ‘the Ministries of Home Affairs of India, Civil Aviation and security agencies’ recently, the report stated.
“It has been decided to deploy the CISF at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh airports on the same terms and conditions which are in force for deployment of the CISF at other airports,” according to an official communication in the report.
A CISF official quoted by PTI said that a security audit of all three airports will be carried out by a multi-agency team before the deployment of its personnel.
“In all probability, the CISF will take over the security of the three airports by January 1 next year,” the official said, as per the report.
Pre-induction formalities, including a survey, may be conducted on priority to enable the CISF to ‘take over the security of these airports’, the official communication said.
The terms and conditions for the CISF taking over the security of the three airports include ‘regular payments toward the cost of deployment of the security personnel at Jammu, Srinagar and Leh airports which will be ensured by the ministry of civil aviation’, another official told PTI in the report.
The three airports in the region are considered to be highly sensitive due to the ongoing conflict and turmoil in the valley, with upto 200 militants having been killed in this year alone.
The CISF currently handles 61 airports out of 100 in the country.
The government of India has already taken a decision to deploy the personnel, given training in aviation security, at all airports in India phase-wise, the report stated.
