Shah unveils Guwahati’s new Commissioner office, Integrated Command control Centre

In a significant push towards modernising police infrastructure and enhancing law enforcement in Assam, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Cooperation, Amit Shah, on Monday dedicated the new Office of the Commissioner of Police (CP), Guwahati, and an advanced Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC). He was accompanied by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The twin inaugurations underscore the Centre and State’s commitment to equipping the police force with cutting-edge technology and infrastructure, moving beyond colonial-era practices. The new CP office, constructed at a cost of Rs 111 crore, is a State-of-the-art ten-storey (B+G+8) complex designed to support high public footfall with a strong emphasis on safety, security, and public convenience.

The infrastructure boasts dedicated facilities such as a media interaction cell, court hearing rooms, archives and chambers for senior officers. Crucially, the complex features robust MEP services, an HVAC system, and a large-scale solar PV installation, aligning with sustainability goals.

Housed within the same building is the newly inaugurated ICCC, established by Guwahati Smart City Limited at a substantial outlay of ?181 crore. Described as the nerve centre of the city’s intelligence surveillance system, the ICCC has advanced command and data facilities, supported by two thousand surveillance cameras.

It is designed to operate an intelligent surveillance system, which will enable real-time incident monitoring, strengthen law enforcement, and significantly enhance urban safety across Guwahati. Emphasising the importance of scientific investigation in the criminal justice system, the Union Home Minister flagged off 39 Mobile Forensic Vans.

This initiative is a component of a nationwide effort to strengthen the use of forensic science, especially in light of the recently enacted new criminal laws.Following the commencement of the new legal framework on July 1, 2024, forensic expert visits have been made mandatory for offences carrying a punishment of more than seven years. The introduction of these mobile forensic units is critical for achieving compliance and ensuring timely, scientific evidence collection at crime scenes.

Furthermore, Shah inaugurated a State-level exhibition on the three new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.

The exhibition is part of a broader, nationwide campaign aimed at familiarising citizens, law enforcement agencies and stake holders with the provisions and transformative features of the new statutes, which replace the outdated colonial criminal laws to deliver faster, citizen-centric justice.

Assam has emerged as a national leader in implementing the new framework, being consistently ranked first among all States in the implementation of the Naveen Nyaya Sanhita. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Assam scored 81.20 per cent in the NCLI dashboard, significantly higher than the national average of 57.02 per cent.

The State Nodal Officer for Naveen Nyaya Sanhita, Munna Prasad Gupta, Special DGP CID, Assam, and the core team were felicitated for this remarkable achievement. Assam has also pioneered 100 per cent geo-fencing of all police stations in the PM Gati Shakti portal and is the first State to enrol DNA samples in the MCU.

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Secretary Dr Ravi Kota, and Director General of Police Harmeet Singh were among the senior dignitaries present at the event.Mumbai IndiGo on Monday cancelled 118 flights across its network due to bad weather and operational reasons, according to its website. Of these, six flight services were axed due to operational reasons, while the rest were cancelled due to bad weather conditions at various airports.

Flight services were cancelled at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Cochin, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Dehradun, Indore, Patna and Bhopal, among others, as per the IndiGo website.

The airline, in a travel advisory at 11.20 am, said, “Foggy conditions remain in place across Delhi and several airports in northern India, with visibility yet to improve fully. As a result, the earlier impact on flight movements is likely to extend into the noon hours, and some delays may continue.”

In the advisory posted on X, however, IndiGo did not say it had cancelled 80 flights on Monday. “We assure you that flight departures and arrivals are being sequenced to ensure steady and orderly movement, while keeping your journey and comfort in mind,” the airline added in the advisory.

IndiGo, which cancelled thousands of flights, including 1,600 on a particular day, early this month due to the court-mandated stricter flight duty and rest period norms for the pilots, and left lakhs of passengers stranded at multiple airports, has been cancelling flights in good numbers since the start of the fog season on December 10. On December 25, the airline had cancelled 67 flights to multiple airports, citing weather conditions, while on Saturday it cancelled another 57 flights from several airports, citing bad weather.

The aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has announced the period between December 10 and February 10 next year as the official fog window this winter. The Delhi airport, in a passenger advisory issued at 1400 hours, Stated: “Flight operations at Delhi Airport are running smoothly as runway visibility has improved. However, some flight departures or arrivals for certain destinations may be impacted.

For the latest flight schedules, please contact your airline or visit the official airport website.” The airport in a morning advisory had stated that “due to persistent dense fog, flight operations continue to remain under CAT III conditions, which may result in flight delays”. As part of the DGCA fog operations (CAT-IIIB) norms, airlines must mandatorily roster pilots trained to operate in low-visibility conditions and deploy a CAT-IIIB-compliant aircraft fleet for such operations.

Category-III is an advanced navigation system that empowers an aircraft to land under foggy conditions. Category-III-A is a precision instrument approach and landing that enables a plane to land with a runway visual range (RVR) of 200 metres, while Category-III-B helps in landing with an RVR of under 50 metres.