Following bans by the US and the UK electronic devices like laptops in hand baggage on flights from Muslim-majority countries, India too might follow suit needed. “The news has been out two days ago and I need to be given some time to think about it. At present we take out laptops and screen those. The finer aspects of advanced technology need to be studied and if it is something we need to do, we will do it,” said OP Singh, Director General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at a press conference during his maiden visit to Kolkata as CISF head.
Following bans by the US and the UK electronic devices like laptops in hand baggage on flights from Muslim-majority countries, India too might follow suit needed. “The news has been out two days ago and I need to be given some time to think about it. At present we take out laptops and screen those. The finer aspects of advanced technology need to be studied and if it is something we need to do, we will do it,” said OP Singh, Director General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at a press conference during his maiden visit to Kolkata as CISF head.
Giving top priority to passenger security, he said that HD CCTVs have already been installed at Delhi and Mumbai. “There would be PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras installed at airports for better viewing and to lessen the grey areas as far as CCTV coverage is concerned,” Singh said.
Singh has chosen BSN Reddy who will be made the AIG (technical) very soon, to work on the technological intervention into airport security. At present, Reddy is CISF’s chief security officer. Talking to DNA, the computer engineer said that there will be an introduction of technology at airports in the near future, at different layers. “At the entry point, there will be an Automatic Number Plate Recognising System which will be linked to a data and so every vehicle which enters will tell us if the vehicle is safe or not. Again we are also looking at installing Under Vehicle Scanning System (UVSS) with the help of which we don’t need to run a mirror under the vehicle. As the vehicle passes a given point, the underbelly is automatically scanned and we get a picture on a screen,” he said.
Talking about body scanners of passengers, Reddy said that unlike getting frisked manually as is the usual practice, authorities are mulling on installing body scanner machines. “There are two types. In one, which is a chamber, the passenger has to get in and take a position before he is scanned and in the other a person can be scanned while walking. At the moment the machines are being tested because there are some problems scanning the armpits and groin areas with these gadgets,” he added. He also said that passengers would initially have an option to choose between manual and automatic scanning.
It was also found out that if these technologies were installed at airports, authorities expect a reduction of 20 to 25 minutes in check-in time as many gates would be operational for boarding.
Singh also said that just as the CISF had decided to do away with stamping hand baggage at seven airports of the country, more are likely to follow. “By the end of this year the practice would be followed at the 59 airports of the country,” he said, adding that it was an age-old practice and the officials need to be drilled into the new habit.
Referring to the recent incident of an MP hitting one airline official with his slipper, Singh said, “CISF is there to protect aircraft security and only if the pilot demands, we can enter the aircraft and intervene when things like these happen.”
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