By IANS,
Mumbai : Home Minister P. Chidambaram Tuesday inaugurated the first of the four elite National Security Guard (NSG) hubs the government has planned after the 26/11 terrorist attack here to reduce the response time.
Replying to a query, Chidambaram said the state police would respond first in case of a terrorist attack but the state government could seek the help of NSG whose commandoes are specifically trained to handle such incidents.
The NSG hub is located on a 23-acre plot in Marol, close to the two airports serving the city and easily accessible from both the eastern and western suburbs of Mumbai.
It has come up within six months of the terrorist attack with the combined efforts of Maharashtra government, the Airports Authority of India and the army.
Its strategic location will drastically reduce its response time to counter any terror attacks anywhere in the western region, unlike the 26/11 strike when the NSG arrival was delayed by nearly 12 hours as its team came from Delhi.
Chidambaram is scheduled to inaugurate similar regional hubs in Chennai and Hyderabad Wednesday. Besides Kolkata which has a hub, the government plans to set up a hub in Jodhpur and Guwahati soon.