Govt to set up a hub of 'Black Cat' commando force NSG in Ayodhya: Amit Shah

Manesar (Haryana), Oct 14 (PTI) The government will set up another regional hub of the 'Black Cat' commando force NSG in Uttar Pradesh's temple town Ayodhya, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Tuesday.

This will be the sixth regional hub of the National Security Guard (NSG) after the existing hubs of Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Gandhinagar. The force also has a small unit called 'task force' in Jammu.

NSG hubs in different parts of the country enable its commandos to reach any emergency immediately and effectively.

Addressing the 41st Raising Day of the anti-terror commando force at its headquarters here, Shah said the Modi government is set to bring about a major change in the functioning of the NSG in the coming days.

"So far, five hubs of the NSG have been established in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad (Gandhinagar). In addition, a new hub is also going to be set up in Ayodhya. Here, the NSG personnel will be deployed and available round the clock," he said.

The government operationalised four regional hubs of the NSG in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata on June 30 and July 1, 2009. The decision to set up these hubs was taken following the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks of 2008 to reduce the time for elite commandos to reach an attack site.

Previously, NSG commandos had to be airlifted from Delhi, which caused delays.

In March 2011, the central government gave the nod for setting up another NSG regional hub in Gandhinagar.

The NSG unit serves as a specialised backup force for prolonged, high-risk anti-terror operations. The hubs help in honing the professional acumen of the NSG commandos and also contribute significantly to capacity building of the first responders, police forces of the states.

The NSG, raised in 1984, is a world-class "zero-error" force and can counter any kind of attack with minimum response time. The NSG, which comprises personnel from the Indian Army and the Central Armed Police Forces, has a multi-dimensional responsibility of countering terrorist attacks, hijack attempts and also providing proximate security. PTI NES ACB DIV DIV