In a bid to bring Delhi Metro premises under enhanced surveillance cover, the security agencies have decided to establish a control room at every station. At present, 90 metro stations, out of the 134 stations of the Metro network have control rooms. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has pitched for establishing control rooms at each and every station, in order to slash the reaction time at the metro premises and prevent any untoward incident.
The security agencies were caught off the guard during the recent fire incident and that of Sikh protests, due to which the Metro authorities were forced to shutdown several Metro stations. "To strengthen the security level infrastructure at the highly sensitive Metro premises, we have proposed to establish control rooms at all the 134 Metro stations of the existing network. A control room at every station will quicken the force's response and help securing the stations better," said Udayan Banerjee, CISF Deputy Inspector General (Delhi Metro operations).
CISF has also decided to beef up the Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs), CCTV observation at the Metro stations and behaviour detection of the passengers on the station premises. "Four intelligence teams are deployed at the busy stations in plain clothes to detect the behaviour of the people, in order to avoid threats such as suicide attempts. The team comprises of 100 CISF personnel — 75 male and 25 female personnel. The force also has an alpha team of female personnel, who catch the male passengers entering the reserved ladies compartments and disciplining them," added Banerjee.