The chopper's main function will be handling law enforcement operations and rescue operations during calamities.
Mumbaikars might soon get some help in dealing with traffic problems if the Mumbai police’s plan of buying a helicopter worth over Rs100 crore materialises — a first for any police force in the country. Its main function will be handling law enforcement operations and rescue operations during calamities.
The helicopter will also take care of traffic troubles, especially during festivals. The plan is still at the bureaucratic stage, sources said. “US-based Sikorsky is one of the companies with whom the state home ministry officials are in touch with for the deal.”
If the deal goes through, the police administration will need to send a list of all the features they want configured in the helicopter. According to experts, some of the features include high resolution cameras for search and rescue operations, stretchers and other urgent equipment for medical emergencies, night vision facility and filters for engines to drive through dense smoke.
“The helicopter will also come with an inbuilt facility of seeing the entire operation on a television screen. Its shelf life will be more than 15 years,” an expert said.
So far, the police have been taking the state government’s helicopter on rent as and when the need arises. The state has been using it for VIP visits and has also been giving it to the Maharashtra police for anti-naxal operations in Gadchiroli.
The need for the helicopter was first felt during the 2005 deluge in city, when the water-logging in low lying areas led to mass casualties. The state machinery had tried to evacuate citizens with the help of buses and boats. “Such a helicopter during a catastrophe of that magnitude would have helped greatly and saved many lives too,” said a source.
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