Parl panel objects to lack of crucial bomb detection, disposal equipments at airports

A parliamentary panel has raised "strong objection" to the non-availability of "crucial" bomb detection equipments at five airports in the country as well as deficiency of similar gadgets at all the 22 hyper-sensitive and international airports.

The department-related parliamentary standing committee on home affairs expressed its concern that amongst the hyper-sensitive aerodromes, the Jodhpur airport in Rajasthan reported having only 1 equipment, out of the mandated 28, to detect and defuse a bomb or an explosive.

"The committee takes a strong objection to the fact that at 5 airports (Bagdogra, Guwahati, Trivandrum, Calicut and Ahmedabad) some of the crucial bomb detection and disposal squad (BDDS) equipments have not been provided by the Airports Authority of India and few of the essential BDDS equipments are either not working or are under repair since long," it said.

At the five airports, the report said, a few of the crucial BDDS equipments have not yet been provided by AAI and a few of the essential BDDS equipments are "either not working or are under repair since long".

The panel was informed that the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the national force for civil aviation security, was rendering the bomb detection tasks at these airports "with available equipments" while its disposal is being done by local police or other agencies.

"The committee is at pains to observe that in the absence of such crucial and essential equipments the aviation security group (ASG) is not operational at these airports, therefore the CISF faces acute problem in performing anti-sabotage and bomb detection duties at these airports."
The panel, during its meetings with various stake holders involved in civil aviation security of the country, was informed that at present "BDDS of CISF has been operationalised only at 7 airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Cochin and Amritsar."