They marched to the beat of the drum. Dressed in colourful tunics, turbans and kilts, 23 police teams from various States and institutions participated in the 10th All-India Police Band Competition held at the RPF Training Centre at Moula Ali on Monday.
One by one, the teams from Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, National Police Academy and Border Security Force to name a few, paraded in front of a huge audience which included chief guest and Minister of State for Railways K. H. Muniyappa, SCR Assistant General Manager Arun Bhagra, organising secretary, IG-CSC, Railway Protection Force, B. Mohan, and Director-General of Police R.R. Girish Kumar.
“The performance of these bands reflects the discipline of these forces besides their dedication and devotion. Security is one of the major priority areas of the Railways. Keeping this in view, an Integrated Security Scheme has been drawn up for 195 vulnerable and sensitive railway stations. Apart from other stations, this will also be implemented in Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Tirupati Railway Stations at a cost of Rs. 6 crore,” said Mr. Muniyappa.
He also said that plans were afoot to increase the number of women commandos. “Women RPF squads are being deployed for security of women passengers particularly in sections where a large number of women travel alone regularly,” Mr. Muniyappa said. The event will see competitions being held in categories which are brass band, pipe band and bugle band and the meet will conclude on Thursday.
