The custodian of Coimbatore International Airport, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), would soon be getting a dog squad and a police outpost.
The airport is now dependent on the bomb detection and disposal squad of the city police for dog squad and has to wait for police personnel from the Peelamedu Police Station to reach the airport at times of emergency.
Airport Director D. Paul Manickam said that recently the airport received Rs. 30 lakh sanctioned from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for creating the required infrastructure including Rs. 25 lakh for dog squad and Rs. 5 lakh for portable cabin for the police outpost.
A senior airport official said that the Government of India has made it mandatory for all international airports across the country to have an in-house dog squad.
The airport in Coimbatore had a dog squad sanctioned for the CISF when the airport was declared as an international airport. But, the dogs could not be inducted due to lack of infrastructure.
Of the three airports in Tamil Nadu that have been declared as international airports (Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruchi), Coimbatore is the only airport that does not have a dog squad. Puppies procured for CIA were diverted to other airports. In due course, smaller airports like Tirupati and Madurai managed to have a dedicated dog squad.
Infrastructure for the dog squad here is expected to be completed in about three months.
Six sniffers are expected to join the squad. On commencing its operations, the sniffers would be used for detecting movement of drugs and narcotic substances, arms and explosives.
