Andhra Pradesh

Sniffer dogs to guard railway stations

Sniffer dogs, Prince and Rosy at Guntur Kennel.

GUNTUR: A pair of sniffer dogs, Prince and Rosy, will be the part of a wider surveillance to man the Guntur Railway Station premises. The two dogs aged about three months will be pressed into service soon after their training at the Central Dog Training Centre at Pothanur near Coimbatore is over. The pair of Labradors, a light brown male and a female, has been housed at Dog Kennel at the western entrance of the Railway Station. The Divisional Railway Manager will shortly inaugurate the Dog Squad. The dogs will be then sent for six month training in Pothanur. Railway Protection Force, Divisional Security Commissioner P.V. Shanta Ram said that the services of the sniffer dogs would be used to detect explosives and in assisting the RPF in its various roles. Four constables, trained in handling the dogs, would be part of the dog squad, he said. “The sniffer dogs have been pressed into service to beef up the security on the railway station premises as part of country-wide exercise. Two more dogs will be pressed into service shortly,” Mr. Shanta Ram said. The Railway Board recommended several security and surveillance measures to prevent possible terrorist attacks on railway stations. The recommendations include installation of metal door detectors, closed circuit televisions and increasing the manpower of the Railway Protection Force.

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