A recent inspection of Delhi Airport perimeter security by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has raised concerns to the point that they have refused to take over the system unless it becomes ‘totally flawless’. The system seems to be fraught with technical problems which have caused false alarms and intermittent CCTV capture.

This is not the first inspection that has failed at the airport, in spite of approximately Rs 5 crore being spent on ‘improvements’. The CISF have met with airport officials around 50 times and so far, there are no changes. This final meeting has resulted in the CISF to demand of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that either the system be deactivated or a solution finally provided for the perimeter security.

G M Siddeswara, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation had informed parliament that the system was flawless, but this is disputed by the CISF.

The CISF referred to a recent airport intrusion where perimeter security was compromised and said, “When that happened on Thursday the CISF personnel saw the intruder but the CCTV didn’t capture any image. And in case of every intrusion, CISF personnel could notice the intruder only after 15 minutes. Now we have asked BCAS to uninstall the system if DIAL cannot address the issues. The system has become a liability. The system is supposed to instantly raise alarm if someone tries to fiddle with the taut wire. Also, the camera should immediately focus on that spot without loss of time. DIAL should ensure that system doesn’t generate any false alarm.”

With current security measures tightening across airport environments all over the world, the matter must be settled with a viable solution for perimeter security implemented. The perimeter fencing is, in many cases, the first barrier to potential intrusion and critical to maintaining a secure facility.