Indian Express 25.11.2009
Two wheels each to make civic guards mobile
The trusted old bicycle will be part of a civic drive to secure the city. The BMC will buy 100 bicycles to ensure swift movement for guards at 20 large civic premises that may be potential terror targets.
“Monitoring large premises is difficult from one spot. We have therefore proposed to buy bicycles,” said chief security officer S Kulkarni.
The proposal will include other security-related purchases. Following 26/11, the BMC has bought handheld metal detectors, door frames and baggage scanning machines, and recruited additional guards for the heritage headquarters in CST and other locations. The security budget is Rs 400 crore.
Each of the 20odd large premises will have five bicycle-riding guards. In hospitals with a large number of patients and relatives, even the presence of CCTV cameras doesn’t ease the pressure on guards, Kulkarni said. If there is a situation, most of the damage is already done by the time the guard reaches the spot, Kulkarni said.
Monitoring the water reservoirs, in Thane and Shahapur districts, too is difficult. Newsline had reported how vulnerable these are, with a handful of guards for huge areas. Officials said bicycles will help. Water reservoirs have often seen alerts on possible terror attacks. Also, locals frequently puncture the pipelines to get water.
Other security measures include bulletproof bunkers for armed guards. The 26/11 attack on CST had exposed the civic headquarters; one of the two terrorists running towards Cama Hospital had shot a BMC guard. The guards are now armed with .303s.
Kulkarni said the guards at the headquarters have makeshift sandbag posts. “We want bulletproof, armoured steel-plated posts,” he said.
