Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel will soon start guarding Gannavaram airport instead of city police, who are presently handling the security duties.
Sources said the development comes in the wake of increasing threats from terrorists to airports across the country and security personnel maintaining heightened vigil at all major airports. Representatives from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and CISF Southern Command jointly conducted an inspection of the Gannavaram airport a few weeks ago and took stock of the situation.
Officials felt that deployment of CISF personnel was of paramount importance as the airport witnessed steep increase in the movement of VIPs including Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union Ministers and MPs.
At present, more than 75 policemen work at the airport in two shifts.
They are allowing passengers only after frisking them with hand-held and door-frame metal detectors. The police top brass earlier wrote letters to the State government seeking its intervention to persuade the Centre on the importance of deploying CISF men at Gannavaram airport.
“We are in the process of finalizing the modalities. Efforts are also on to provide accommodation to CISF men,” said a senior official. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has drawn up plans to raise the perimeter wall in tune with the standards prescribed by BCAS. “We have decided to raise height up to 8.5 feet. Barbed wire fencing will also be put on the wall to restrict entry of unauthorised persons into the airport,” the official said.
When contacted, Airport Director M. Rajkishore confirmed that the CISF personnel would be deployed soon. “We are leaving no stone unturned in ensuring foolproof security at the airport,” he added.
