In an effort to mitigate the growing concern about the security of airports across the country, the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) has decided to enhance the security apparatus by installing state-of-the-art security and surveillance equipment at the airport here.
According to CIAL officials, the company plans for a phased enhancement of the total security cover for the airport by launching the ‘nakkas and morchas’ system in the first phase and a full fledged perimeter intrusion detection system in the second phase. The system of ‘nakkas and morchas’ - intended to ward off a possible terrorist strike at the airport, was expected to be operational within a couple of months, they added. While the nakka system is set up to stop the movement of speeding vehicles into the terminals under suspicious circumstances, the morcha will ensure a thorough checking of all the vehicles entering into the airport. CIAL has already erected a number of hide-outs at the main entry points of both the passenger terminals and the cargo terminal to deploy Central for Industrial Force (CISF) personnel. The morcha system envisages the entry of the vehicles into the parking area at the city-side only after a systematic inspection by the sentries at the CISF posts and recording of details.
Further, a special security force will be deployed to coordinate the parking of automobiles and activities at the parking area. To prevent the incidence of vehicles ramming through the barricades at the entry points, CIAL will also install automatic retractable bollards to block vehicle access into the restricted areas and to stop heavy and fast-moving vehicles like trucks from entering the premises. Bollards are button-operated road blockers that can be raised to obstruct approaching vehicles. In the second phase, CIAL also plans to establish a perimeter intrusion detection system that will detect any possible case of intrusion at the perimeter limits of the airport by using censors and provide critical time for the security forces to react.
Presently, the outer periphery of the airport is manned by patrolling teams of the CISF and a private security force deployed by the airport company.