Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday expressed concern over the open border with Nepal and sought “special policing” by the Centre to check any anti-national activity along it.
Participating in the Internal Security Conference of Chief Ministers here, Mr. Yadav — in his maiden appearance in a Chief Ministers' Conference — pointed out that due to strict vigil on the country's borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh, the possibility of anti-social and terrorist activity along the Indo-Nepal border has heightened.
“I would like to draw the attention of the Centre to the need for establishing adequate number of integrated check-posts and special police arrangements to control any possible anti-national activities along the 550-km-long open border with Nepal,” he said.
Demanding a massive hike in the allocation of funds to Uttar Pradesh for the modernisation of the police force, the new Chief Minister said: “Considering the challenges of maintaining law and order, internal security and communal harmony in a large State like U.P., there should be a hike in the funds from the present Rs. 100 crore to Rs. 800 crore.”
He said frequent changes implemented by the Centre in crime tracking methods were not allowing full implementation of the system in the States.
Mr. Yadav said a proposal of Rs. 750 crore had been sent to the Centre for modernisation of the State forensic science laboratories. To check the growing menace of fake currency, he sought help for setting up a special laboratory in either Lucknow or Kanpur to identify such notes.
Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar should be included in mega city policing projects and provided with sophisticated weapons and systems, he added.
The Chief Minister also sought assistance with intelligence, manpower and security apparatus for smooth conduct of the Kumbh Mela in 2013.
Separately, Mr. Yadav thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the meeting with him in New Delhi on April 14. He sought better attention and financial assistance from the Centre for “overall development” of U.P., which, he said, was lagging compared to other States.
