Mumbai NSG hub to be operational tomorrow

The first National Security Guards (NSG) hub set up in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks will become operational in Mumbai tomorrow, while three more hubs of the elite commando force will be inaugurated on July 1.      

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will inaugurate the Mumbai hub located at Marol, a suburb in Andheri, close to the Airport.      

With the operationalisation of hub at Mumbai, the response time of the commando force in countering any terrorist action in the western region would be reduced "very significantly".      

Chidambaram is expected to inaugurate similar hubs at Chennai and Hyderabad on July 1, while the fourth hub in Kolkata may be inaugurated by another minister.      

"With the establishment of these hubs, the response time of NSG for countering any terrorist action will be reduced very significantly," a Home Ministry spokesman said in the national capital today.      

The government had decided to set up these hubs after drawing a lesson from the delayed arrival of NSG team at Mumbai when terrorists struck the city on November 26 last year.      

The Chennai hub is built on a 85-acre plot at Nedunkundram, while in Hyderabad it is located on a 22-acre plot at Trimulghery. In Kolkata, it is situated on a 20-acre plot at Badu.

Pre-fabricated and permanent structures are being constructed by the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) to station NSG commandos at these hubs. The state governments, Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the Army have been involved in the process of establishing these units, sources said.    

Commandos drawn from the Army and paramilitary force will man these hubs.