The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : How secure is Shamshabad airport? Law and order

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 13, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

How secure is Shamshabad airport? Law and order

The recent gold heist has exposed the security lapses at the prestigious facility, writes Marri Ramu

Two men walk close to the cargo office at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad during daytime. One wielding a knife and the other a revolver threaten six persons and drive away a car containing four boxes of jewellery worth Rs. 1.10 crore.

The scene appears to be straight out of a Bollywood action movie, but it was a real life robbery committed in five minutes flat that laid bare the security lapses at the prestigious airport billed as one of the highly protected zones in the State.

The robbers would be caught sooner or later but how secured is the airport -- not only from robbers but also from possible terror strikes -- is the question in everyone’s minds. The incident showed that anyone can drive or walk up to the terminals without being subjected to security checks.

No uniformity

People can freely roam around the snack bar and the lounge located on the ground floor of the terminals. There is, surely, heavy security but it begins only from the entrances leading to the terminals. There is no access control to the two routes - one from Pahadishariff police station road side and the other from Shamshabad main road – going to the airport. The third one is meant for vehicles carrying construction material. The security situation is no better on this route as well. Posting security guards at every point in the vast tracts of open lands and concrete buildings on the airport spread over hundreds of acres may not be feasible. But surveillance cameras used on trial basis atop Hi-Tec city towers in Madhapur would be of great help, a police officer pointed out.

Access control and keeping a tab on every person and vehicle entering and leaving the airport has become crucial due to the increased threat perception from terrorist outfits. The attempts by terrorists to drive into Heathrow airport at London with a vehicle full of explosives and reported confession of terror suspect Raziuddin Nasir to make similar attempt at DGP office here has proved this.

The Government too recognised the security needs and sanctioned an exclusive police station for the airport but the usual procedural wrangles stalled its formation. Airport apart, there are scores of places witnessing crowds in Cyberabad police jurisdiction. As the robbery has already sent alarm bells ringing, one can hope that security would be tightened .

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh