Karnataka - Mysore   

How secure are premier institutions in Mysore?

— PHOTO: M.A. SRIRAM

Vulnerable: Lack of adequate security makes most high-profile institutions in Mysore soft targets.

MYSORE: The terror attack in Mumbai and the aftermath brings to focus the imperatives of augmenting security arrangements around high-profile institutions in Mysore.

This is pertinent because the authorities believe that only high-visibility metropolitan centres are usually targeted. But the existing security cover for some of the premier institutions in the city is at best rudimentary.

The growth of Mysore in recent years and the emergence of a few institutions have put the city on the national map. The Infosys campus, spread over 350 acres is one such centre, while other industries like L & T have expanded their campus.

Mysore is also home to national institutions like the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), a premier centre and one of its kind in Asia. The other is the Defence Food Research Laboratory that provides ration for the Defence. But for a check-post manned by a few personnel, there is nothing to inspire confidence in terms of security.

The Infosys campus in Mysore plays host to foreign nationals selected by the company to operate in their respective countries. The campus is only manned by private security agencies and though sources maintained that it was adequate and the guards were armed, some expressed doubt that they could handle a crisis situation.

Suresh Kumar Jain, General Secretary, Mysore Industries Association, said that the industrial area is spread over 5,500 acres but there is not a single beat police constable assigned to the area.

“We sought security from the police and requested them to have an outpost for the industrial area, but the police cited lack of resources and asked us to sponsor a jeep,” said an industrialist who did not wished to be named.

However, a few high-profile institutions like the Reserve Bank of India’s note-printing unit have security provided by the Central Industrial Security Force. But despite the “tight security” the press frequently reports currency note thefts.

The BEML in Mysore, which produces defence equipment including trucks, has a strong security in place but whether it is adequate enough to hold off a determined group of individuals is the question.

Two Pakistani nationals were arrested on the ring road leading to Infosys campus a few months earlier. Interrogations had revealed their plan to bomb the Central Institute of Indian Languages.

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