NSG(National Security Guard) hub to come up in Hyderabad

New Delhi Dec 23rd: Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai will soon have full-fledged units of the National Security Guard (NSG) with the Centre on Monday deciding to set-up regional hubs of the crack commando force in these four cities to cut its response time in future.
The idea to set up such hubs was mooted in the wake of last month's Mumbai terror attacks when NSG -- which is stationed at Manesar near Gurgaon in Haryana -- took over nine hours to begin its operation against the terrorists.
Since Manesar does not have an airstrip, the commandos had to travel to Delhi by road and fly to Mumbai, wasting precious time.
The four regional hubs, which will also have facilities for regular training, will help the NSG in cutting its response time substantially in future.
"Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai are the four places identified to establish the new NSG hubs. These hubs will be manned by the existing force of NSG as of now," director general of the elite force J K Dutt told reporters after meeting home secretary Madhukar Gupta.
Though names of other cities -- Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bangalore --were also considered, the home ministry decided that Mumbai will cover the western zone while Kolkata will take care of the eastern zone. Hyderabad will be responsible for the central zone and Chennai for the south.