NEW DELHI:
The air courier service meant to transport central armed police force (CAPF) personnel in North East and Jammu & Kashmir has been suspended from April 1 after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided not to approve it.
The ministry provided the facility for the last seven months since September 1.
A senior official of the Border Security Force (BSF), which is the coordinating agency for the facility, said that the tender for providing the service had expired on March 31.
“Although we have informed the ministry about it, no approval has been given yet,” the official said.
The central government initiated the air courier service following the 2019 Pulwama terror attack where 14 CRPF personnel lost their lives.
The air courier service for CAPF, intelligence bureau (IB) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel posted in North East and Jammu & Kashmir sectors was provided to facilitate their convenient movement as a welfare measure.
Before September last year, the air courier service was discontinued for a brief period because of the non-approval from the ministry.
The development, however, has raised the eyebrows of a certain section of people.
Talking to this correspondent, Ranbir Singh, general secretary of the Confederation of Ex-paramilitary Forces Martyrs’ Welfare Association, termed the development as unfortunate.
“It was very much necessary to ensure air transport of the jawans of central armed police force especially in Jammu & Kashmir and North East,” said Singh.
Referring to J&K, Singh said, “Given the present scenario of political instability in Pakistan, the non-state actors might try to target security personnel and their convoys to create a fear psychosis,” said Singh.