State put on high alert

Home and Transport Minister R Ashoka said here on Wednesday that according to intelligence wing terrorists may target foreign tourists, particularly the British and the Americans visiting the State in large numbers. He said 12 police stations will be set up exclusively to keep a vigil on the coastal areas.

 “Six stations will be established with the aid of Central government and the State would fund the remaining six. The stations will be set up at a distance of every 30 kms,” Ashoka said. Eighty commandoes have been imparted training on a par with military personnel and are now fit to tackle any eventuality.

The Union government has issued directions to beef up security in all the states.
Ashoka said a training centre for Central Reserve Police Force will be set up on 400 acres of land near Belgaum. A sum of Rs 20 crore has been set aside in the budget to set up a commando training centre. Search is on for a suitable location on the outskirts of Bangalore, he said.

Relief for ‘senior’ rowdies

The names of the goondas aged above 60 years will be deleted from the rowdy sheet after observing their activities, according to Home Minister R Ashoka. “Few are very old and cannot be kept in prisons. We will remove them from the list if they reform,” the minister said. However, he could not come out with the number of such ‘senior’ rowdies.