India to press Pak for voice samples of Saeed, Lakhvi

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : India will seek to press Pakistan to hand over the voice samples of Lashkar-e-Toiba founder Hafiz Saeed and commander Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi when Union Home Minister P Chidambaram meets Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik in the bilateral engagements between the two neighbours during the SAARC Interior Ministers’ Conference later this month.

As per sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), India is expected to renew its demand for voice samples of the key LeT operatives so that it can match them with the voices of the handlers of the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26, 2008. “All we want is the voice samples of people like Hafiz Saeed and Lakhvi so that we can match them with voices of those who were supervising the terrorists on the phone during the 26/11 attack,” said a government functionary. “What could be Pakistan’s objection to that?”

India also plans to convey to Pakistan that intelligence and information-sharing between the two countries needs to be dealt with as a priority and handing over the voice samples of LeT operatives to India would go a long way in promoting security cooperation between both the countries. Further, New Delhi believes that if it can match the voices of the key LeT men and recordings made during 26/11, it would strengthen India’s case against the LeT.

With National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials, who are currently in the US to interrogate Pakistani-American terror suspect David Coleman Headley, expected to return well in time before Chidambaram flies down to Islamabad, the Indian security establishment is hoping to arm itself with fresh information about the LeT’s role in 26/11.

The Indian side will also raise the issue of increasing infiltration attempts that are being made from across the border. “Everyday, our security forces are encountering more and more attempts to infiltrate across the LoC. We hope to raise this matter strongly during our interactions,” an official said.

Choppers for anti-Naxal fight on CCS agenda today

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : With differences between the Home Ministry and the Defence Ministry over the Army deployment in anti-Naxal operations still unresolved, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which meets on Thursday, is likely to limit itself to focusing mainly on the procurement of more helicopters for use in these operations and setting up of a unified command like the ones in J&K and the Northeast.

As per sources, procurement of over two dozen choppers is likely to top the agenda of CCS meeting given the ever-growing realisation that Central Paramilitary Forces needed these to ferry troops to the areas of operation. Officials say having dedicated helicopters at their disposal will give the much-needed edge to security forces in terms of the time taken to reach a given location as well as by saving them from the trouble of travelling through heavily-mined forests. Less than half a dozen choppers are currently being used in the anti-Naxal operations.

Sources say a final call on whether the Army should be deployed in fight against the Naxals is not likely to be taken at least at this CCS meeting. With the Army having already pointed out that its troops cannot be deployed for active operation without implementing the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, sources say the government is likely to leave this discussion for a later day.

Past experience shows the government has not been able to withdraw the Army from a conflict zone even years after it was first sent in. “This fact has to be carefully considered if a final decision to use the Army against the Naxals has to be taken,” says a source. The government is also weighing the “collateral damage” that may occur as a result of roping in the Army to fight the Naxals.

T-3: The Terminal is here

Raghvendra Rao

New Delhi : In three weeks from now, India will unveil its biggest airport terminal, Terminal 3 or T-3, at the Delhi Airport. As July 3 nears, the day Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurates the new terminal, the finishing touches to the Rs 12,700 crore mega-structure that will handle 34 million passengers annually, are on at a frantic pace. And with the Commonwealth Games just over 100 days away, the sense of anticipation of showcasing what is being dubbed as the country’s most-modern terminal to a world audience is unmistakable.

“International” is probably the word that best sums up what T-3 is all about. From the time one drives onto the Departure level, that has a huge 300 meter-long “meet and greet” area just before the entry gates, to the Departure Hall that houses a staggering 168 check-in counters mounted on six islands, to the 92 automatic walkalators (a.k.a travelators) and the 78 aerobridges, Terminal 3, which integrates the domestic and international terminals at the Delhi airport for the first time ever, throws up a sight that is commonly associated with some of the best airports across the globe.

T-3, in addition, will offer some facilities to passengers that have never been offered in India. Probably one of the most significant facilities T-3 will provide will be the one enabling a passengers to ask for a change of seat at the Boarding Gate. Installation of sophisticated communication equipment at the Boarding Gates will allow authorities to change seats of passengers, in case a possibility exists, just before they board the plane.

When construction was at its peak, close to 50,000 workers were working day and night on the T-3. Helping them out were 300-odd foreign nationals who have also worked for months on this project. In fact, the list of countries from where foreigners came to work on T-3 includes Germany, UK, Italy, Australia, Singapore, China, Malaysia, Sweden, Canada, US and Thailand.

Even today, groups of Chinese nationals actively engaged in fixing the last-minute glitches can be seen all over the terminal. “This is a very big terminal. And if not better, it is certainly as good as the Beijing airport,” says Hagel Hui, a Chinese national currently working on the aerobridges being installed by ThyssenKrupp. Hui, however, clarifies with a smile that it is his loyalty towards his country that is preventing him from not calling it better than what they have at Beijing airport.

With the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfers (ORTA) checks currently on, both the Departure and the Arrival halls of T-3 are flooded with luggage of all shapes and sizes. Thousands of bags and suitcases are being run through the baggage handling system that has a capacity to handle 12,800 bags per hour. There are two dedicated belts for oversized bags , says DIAL’s Rommel Valles.

To maintain an Indian character, the makers of T-3 have put in place wall-mounted giant-sized palms depicting various mudras in the Arrival area. A lot of artwork on the glass facades, too, is clearly reflective of the Indian ethos.

While the granite for flooring was sourced from Saudi Arabia, as much as 16,500 square meters of carpets was purchased from carpet major Brinton. Similarly, chairs installed in the waiting areas have come from Italy.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the company that successfully delivered this mega piece of concrete and glass structure in a record 37 months, in fact, has already started thinking in terms of making Delhi airport a “hub” airport and not just remain the origin and destination airport it currently is.