Union Home Minister Amit Shah took part in the
56th Raising Day celebrations of the Central Industrial Security Force
(CISF) at Thakkolam in Ranipet district of Tamil Nadu on Friday.
After receiving a guard of honour and witnessing a ceremonial pade,
at the CISF Regional Training Centre (RTC), Mr Amit Shah witnessed a
dare devil exercise by CISF personnel.
The exercise included neutralising terrorist forces, foiling terrorist bids,
rescuing the ‘hostages’ from terrorirsts, besides detecting and disposing
of bombs using sniffer dogs and other mock drills.
Earlier, Mr Amit Shah soon after his arrival at the RTC renamed it as
Rajaditya Cholan Regional Training Centre (RTC) in memory of the
Chola prince, who died in a battle there centuries ago.
An order renaming the RTC after Rajaditya Cholan, was issued by
CISF Director General Rajwinder Singh Bhatti.
Mr Amit Shah arrived at the INS Rajali Air Base at Arakkonam by a
Special aircraft from New Delhi on Thursday night.
Mr INS Rajali he drove down to RTC in Thakkolam for an overnight
stay, where he took part in the RTC renaming ceremony and also in
the CISF 56th Raising Day celebrations.
After virtually flagging off the CISF Coastal Cyclothon ‘Surakshit Tat,
Samridh Bharat’, starting from Gujarat and West Bengal, respectively,
from Thakkolam, he left for INS Rajali, from where he flew to Bengaluru.
Police have made elaborate security arrangements in view of Mr Amit
Shah’s visit in Ranipet and neigjbouring districts like Vellore and
Tiruppattur and also in Arakkonam.
The district administration has banned flying of drone and any other
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for two days as part of tight security
arrangements put in place in view of Mr Amit Shah’s visit.
The CISF acts as a vital cog in India’s security apparatus. Currently,
with approximately 2,00,000 personnel, CISF personnel provides
security to 359 key installations across India, including 25 states,
five union territories, 68 airports, Delhi Metro Rail, 103 power plants,
18 nuclear facilities, 17 space-related installations, 47 central
government buildings, 14 ports, six defence establishments, 37 oil
and natural gas units, 19 steel plants, and 10 coal mines.
The Special Security Group (SSG) of the CISF also provides protection
to over 150 VIPs, besides managing 113 fire stations across 22 states
with a workforce of around 9,000 personnel in its specialized fire division.
