Seven months after 26/11, Mumbai gets NSG hub

t was a shameful delay when the NSG commandos reached 12 hours after the 26/11 attacks began in Mumbai. A delay that perhaps cost more lives.

It's been seven months since then, and now Mumbai has its own NSG hub.

A 23-acre NSG facility located at Marol in Andheri, it is close to the domestic airport - for a quick response in case of a future attack.

While this hub is located in Mumbai it will respond to a crisis in any part of western India.

However, the hub, with 250 commandos, will not have a dedicated chopper. But the Home Minister dismissed concerns that this could cause delays.

"As part of the mega city policing project, we will be equipping police stations with helicopters. The NSG can ask for any aircraft it wants," said P Chidambaram.

While the city now has its own crack force, the Home Minister was clear that the buck stopped first with the state police.

"The first response in a crisis should come from the state police," he had said.

In an attempt to keep the entire country battle-ready in the event of a terror strike, after an NSG hub was inaugurated in Mumbai on Tuesday, National Security Group Hubs are set to be operational in Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata on Wednesday.

Home Minister P Chidambaram and Deputy CM M K Stalin will inaugurate the NSG Hub in Chennai; this Hub will have 241 commandos.

The Home Minister will then be in Hyderabad to inaugurate the NSG hub there along with the Andhra Pradesh CM YSR Reddy.

In Kolkata, the NSG hub will be inaugurated on Wednesday evening by the Director General of NSG and the Chief Secretary of West Bengal.

NSG hubs are said to have a crack force trained to respond quickly and effectively to terror attacks.

Meanwhile, two new hubs have been announced in Guwahati and Jodhpur too.

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