Nagpur: With GMR Group taking over Nagpur airport’s operations, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), which guards the facility, hopes to get its long-pending requirement of installing CCTVs along the peripheral wall finally met.With a peripheral wall extending up to 15 km, the Nagpur airport is among the largest facilities in terms of area. However, the CISF, which is in charge of airport security, was taking up the demand with Mihan India Limited (MIL), the earlier operator, for getting the CCTVs installed along the wall, sources said.A large area starting from Flying Club side going further up to IAF base, Jaitala and other parts is part of airport land.Sources say the demand was taken up time and again over the years but was not met with any response. Having CCTVs will make it easier to monitor the far-off areas that come within the airport premises but cannot be entirely manned.Ideally, one CCTV covering an area of around one kilometre would have been enough to keep an eye on the movements in the remote parts of the airport, the source said.Even if it could not happen during the MIL regime, it is expected that GMR Nagpur International Airports Limited (GNIAL) — the new operator — may realise the need, a source said.As CISF deploys its personnel for security, the expenses and gadgets have to be provided by the airport operator. For 30 years, Nagpur airport will remain under GNIAL.CISF also put up a demand for installing AI-based software in some of the cameras that have been installed within the terminal buildings. Not all, but around 20 to 25 cameras out of over 150 can have the software, which can easily spot alleged criminals or unwanted persons on the basis of a rogue list already available with the CISF.The software can also help in crowd management, flagging the need to deploy additional personnel if the numbers swell at any spot.After the expansion, which includes building the new terminal, CISF may also have to increase the number of personnel. This shall happen in consultation with Bureau of Civil Aviation and the operator, the source said.Please take as boxEven in the age of hi-tech gadgets, sniffer dogs remain the most reliable means for the CISF to detect explosive or any other dangerous material that may have been planted in the airport. With six labrador dogs in service at present, in the future there are plans to have newer breeds like the small cocker spaniels often preferred as pets. The small breed can easily sneak under seats or enter narrow gaps, sniffing for bombs. A whole-body scanner, which can make the security check faster, may also be needed in the future, a source said.
