CISF to exempt baggage stamping at 7 airports on trial basis

Patna: Mandated to provide security coverage at airports, CISF would not carry stamping of baggage at seven airports, including Patna, Lucknow and Jaipur, from coming Monday on trial basis to facilitate hassle-free travel to passengers, its Director General O P Singh said on Saturday.

The decision to do away with stamping of baggage from December 26 at seven airports, Patna, Guwahati, Nagpur, Kochi, Jaipur, Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram has been taken on a trial basis to study how much time is saved by doing this, Singh told reporters.

The decision follows the week-long pilot project at airports in metros like Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata besides mega cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru that ended last Thursday, he said.

"After studying the outcome of the trial of doing without stamping of baggage, the CISF would take a decision by January 26 next if it could be made a permanent feature at all the airports," the CISF DG said.

He said study highlighted that doing away with baggage stamping saved 20-25 second per passenger in Mumbai and 10-15 second every passenger in Kolkata.

Established in 1969, CISF is providing security coverage to 59 airports across the country at present. Singh said that as part of technology upgradation, the CISF has conducted full body scan of 10,000 passengers who volunteered for it on a machine imported from the US.

"Now we have put up a full body scanner machine of Germany to study the efficacy of the two kinds of machines," the DG said, adding after studying the results it would be utilised in other airports of the country.

Accompanied by Inspector General of CISF, Eastern region, Neeta Singh and DIG A N Singh, the DG said Union government has taken a decision to enhance its manpower strength to 1.80lakh from 1.45 lakh at present.

"Two new CISF battalions would be constituted out of this enhanced manpower which would be raised in two years time," he said, adding CISF has written to states for land.

The CISF is entrusted with security job of 59 airports and 329 other units including major public sector organisations and private concerns like INFOSYS.

"We have been approached for providing security cover to Benaras Hindu University (BHU) and Reliance Industry which we are considering," Singh, who earlier headed NDRF, said.

The CISF DG said Rs 80 crore was seized by its personnel at different airports during the demonetisation drive out of which Rs 1.2 crore was in Patna airport.

About expansion programmes, the DG said bouyed by consultancy service provided by CISF at Bhopal jail after 8 prisoners had fled, the Madhya Pradesh government has given CISF consultancy job at Ujjain, Jabalpur and Gwalior.