Centre sanctions CISF cover to Mizoram's lone airport from April 24

The Centre has ordered the deployment of about 120 armed security personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force to provide counter-terrorist cover to Mizoram's lone airport, strategically located at Lengpui.

This will be the 69th airport under the cover of the paramilitary in the country. It is designated as the national civil aviation security force.

The Lengpui airport will also be the first unit to be guarded by the CISF in the Northeastern state.

The lone table-top runway airport of the state is located about 35 km north of capital Aizawl in Mamit district. Built in February 1998, the airport is the first in the country to be constructed by a state government, according to the Airports Authority of India .

It has flights connecting the state to Kolkata, Delhi, Guwahati and Silchar in Assam, and Imphal in Manipur by Indigo and Alliance Air planes.

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"The ministry of home affairs issued an order in February this year asking the CISF to take complete charge of the strategically located airport following a threat assessment review by central intelligence agencies."

"The CISF contingent is already familiarising with the facility and they will take charge of the airport on April 24 after a formal induction ceremony," a senior security officer told PTI.

More than 120 CISF personnel are being deployed in the first phase under the command of a Deputy Commandant rank officer, he said.

More personnel may be inducted over the coming months, another officer said, adding issues related to accommodation and logistics of the more than 120 CISF personnel are being planned out currently.

The facility is currently being protected by a joint team of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force. The CRPF has deployed a company strength of about 120 personnel to guard the airport since 1999.

The CISF has a special aviation security group under its establishment that guards civil airports across the country as part of its charter to provide counter-terrorist and anti-sabotage cover to these facilities.

The force will control access and exit at the Lengpui facility, check departing passengers and their baggage and deploy vehicle-borne armed commandos as part of a quick reaction team that responds in case of threat or attacks, the officer said.

The airport is the only air facility in the state and is located about 200 kms from the India-Myanmar international border. It has, hence, got a strategic value and will be placed under the 'sensitive' category by the CISF.

A Myanmarese military cargo plane carrying 14 crew members had crash-landed at this airport after it overshot the runway in January last year. There were no casualties in the incident.

Mizoram shares 510 km of its border with Myanmar out of the total 1,643-km-long international front.