Paramilitary force CISF has started providing fulltime security cover for yoga guru Ramdev’s food park in Haridwar and has deployed close to three dozen armed commandos at the facility.
Officials said a contingent of 34 commandos, under the charge of an Assistant Commandant-rank officer, took charge at the facility on March 22 following Union Home Ministry’s order for 24X7 security deployment early this year.
Such security cover has so far been extended by the Centre to only a handful of private entities such as Infosys.
Senior officials said Patanjali Food and Herbal Park Private Limited has provided the logistics, including barracks for accommodating the personnel as part of the “fully paid” deployment.
Officials had earlier said expenditure on security deployment at the multi-acre food park was estimated at around Rs. 40 lakh per annum and all logistical facilities like barracks, armoury and vehicles will be provided for by the “client.”
A contingent of the Central Industrial Security Force had been deployed at the facility in the middle of last year for “temporary” security duty after protests erupted there and, early this year, the Home Ministry ordered “permanent” deployment of the force in view of potential security threats to it. Full-time CISF cover is accorded by the central government very sparingly to the private sector and this is the eighth such deployment.
