Black cat counter-terrorism camp

Even as the Cobra has slithered into Lalgarh for trying to neutralize the Maoist threat, the Kolkata airport has the Black Cats slipping in for setting up a quick-reaction counter-terrorism camp. There is a 25-acre plot belonging to the Airports Authority of India at Kaikhali, which is just a stones throw from the southern end of the runway. This area has been handed over to the National Security Guard or the NSG to set up barracks and other facilities, where 200-250 personnel would be camping. According to sources, the first batch of commandos is already in town. These commandos are staying at Salt Lake stadium and two more were scheduled to arrive in a couple of days. The sources also added that they would officially start their operations on July 1. However, it could be a while before the Kaikhali camp becomes functional. The selection of this spot clearly defines the NSG priority after the Mumbai attacks. They want to be located close to an airstrip so that they don’t lose any time in transit. An official from the home department said that Kaikhali was just what the NSG was looking for.

Commandos of the NSG took almost nine hours to reach Mumbai from their base at Manesar, during November 26 the terror attacks on Hotel Taj, Hotel Oberoi and Nariman house, along with other places. During that time the Black Cats traveled to Delhi by road before they could board a flight to Mumbai. Since Manesar doesn’t have an airstrip, this resulted in time being lost and the NSG does not want a repeat of the same. The operational base for Calcutta will be Kaikhali; the Eastern Regional Centre of the NSG would probably be on the city’s outskirts. The team of NSG officials had come to Calcutta a few weeks ago to look for land to set up the regional centre. The airport authorities had shown then around 1,000 acres in Kanchrapara as modalities were being worked out. 7,500-odd Black Cats are trained in India for close-quarter encounters along with air strikes, emergency evacuation, anti-hijacking operations and counter-terrorism. Even though it is not clear how the NSG will operate in the four cities of Chennai, Mumbai, Calcutta and Hyderabad, some sources say that the personnel trained at the Manesar base would initially be stationed at the quick-reaction camp. The base near the airport would result in immediate relief from NSG, in case of any such terrorist attacks.