Govt to induct Dhruv choppers to carry forces

NEW DELHI: As a part of the measures to augment the response of security forces post 26/11, the Union home ministry has decided to induct eight ���Dhruv��� Advanced Light Helicopters by next month for quick mobilisation of forces to deal with any emergency in the country at short notice.

These helicopters will be located at four cities ��� Jammu, Delhi , Guwahati and Patna ��� and will be available for paramilitary forces, including the elite anti-terror National Security Guard (NSG) as well as the state police.

A number of Dhruv ALHs ��� having capabilities for heli-borne assault, logistic support, reconnaissance , training and casualty evacuation ��� are currently being used by Army, Air Force and Coast Guard. A senior home ministry official said that the decision to induct the eight Dhruv ALHs was taken recently in a high-level meeting chaired by cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar over measures to be taken for ���augmenting and equipping a streamlined anti-terrorist force���.

���Initially, two Dhruv ALHs each will be stationed in the four cities. Later, more cities will get those helicopters,��� said the official . Since the ministry does not have available infrastructure for operationalizing the Dhruv fleet at designated bases, it was decided to first use the hangars of BSF and other agencies.

Sources in the ministry said that though Jammu, Delhi and Guwahati would not have a problem in having the hangars, the government was currently exploring different options for the induction at Patna. One of the options is to first operationalise it from Ranchi using the Coal India Ltd hangar till such time as infrastructure is created at Patna , they added.

The places for locating the helicopters have been selected after several rounds of consultations with NSG and other agencies. In Delhi, the two ALHs will initially be located near the NSG headquarters at the newly-acquired site along the airport.

The Dhruv ALH is designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. It is a unique multirole, state-of-the-art , costeffective helicopter having a passenger capacity of 12.