Kolkata gets eastern hub of NSG

KOLKATA - The eastern regional hub of the elite anti-terror force National Security Guard (NSG) was inaugurated in the West Bengal capital Wednesday.

The Kolkata centre of the NSG is one of the four hubs the government had planned after the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack so that anti-terror commandos can be deployed to tackle an emergency situation in quick time.

The Kolkata hub is the fourth to be commissioned. Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram inaugurated a similar hub in Chennai and Hyderabad Wednesday. He commissioned the first regional hub in Mumbai Tuesday.

Kolkata and Hyderabad have been chosen as the two venues for training centres.

However, the eastern hub will move by November to its permanent facility at Badu in Madhyamgram town in North 24 Parganas district, NSG Director General N.P.S. Aulakh said after unveiling a plaque of the hub at the Salt Lake stadium premises.

“We have got land from the Airports Authority of India at Badu in North 24 Parganas district for setting up the permanent facility,” Aulakh said.

Till the Badu facility was ready, the commandos would be stationed at the stadium and accommodated in its hostel.

“Work has already started at Badu. The hub will be spread over 20 acres. Around 250 commandos will be posted here,” Aulakh said.

With the hub being close to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, the response time of the NSG to any terrorist attack in east and northeast India would be minimum, he said.

The NSG has also asked for land from the government to set up a training centre for the commandos.

West Bengal Chief Secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty said the presence of NSG commandos will be beneficial for the state’s police force.

“I understand that the NSG will impart training to the state police in areas like handling modern weapons and bomb detection. So we stand to gain immensely from this hub,” he said.