An annual Functional Workshop on Security of Chemical and Fertiliser sector was held on Friday at the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL) Dibrugarh under the aegis of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) North East Sector. North East sector CISF Inspector General (IG) AK Singh, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) SS Sarmah, Reep Hazarika, MD BCPL Dibrugarh, SP Mohanty, CMD Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation Limited (BVFCL) were among those present on the occasion.
The CISF provides security to Chemical and Fertilisers plants situated all over the country, including National Fertilizers Ltd(NFL) situated at Bhatinda, Nangal, Panipat and Vijaypur, Rastriya Chemical and Fertilisers Limited (RCFL) Mumbai and Thal, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Limited, BVFCL Namrup and BCPL Dibrugarh. The Functional workshop was convened to orchestrate functional uniformity among these units through exchange of ideas, case studies and security architecture integrating modern gadgets. Participants included CISF Officers deployed at various chemical and fertiliser plants across the country.
A series of lectures was delivered by various field experts and professionals. Borkha Mech from Department of Petroleum Technology, Dibrugarh University talked at length about the evolving challenges of chemical industry, various chemical hazards, and the complex security dynamics involved. It was followed by a panel discussion on the topic “Challenges in Fertiliser Industry and modernisation of Secuity Infrastructure” with participation from both CISF officers and management officials from BCPL and BVFCL to shed more light on the nuanced issues.
During the course of the workshop, a plethora of issues pertaining to operational and administrative procedures, day-to-day functioning and coordination among various agencies involved were discussed by the unit commanders of the CISF units of Chemical and Fertiliser sector present.
Addresses by Reep Hazarika, MD BCPL Dibrugarh and SP Mohanty CMD BVFCL Namrup stressed upon the need to make annual functional sector workshops more meaningful and result oriented in terms of operational preparedness and addressing logistics issues faced by CISF units in discharging their duty.
CISF IG AK Singh talked about the ever evolving threat scenario and actions needed to tackle them. He suggested to look for not just short term solutions but to evolve long term economically viable methods and procedures, keeping in mind the specific security needs of the Chemical and Fertilisers industry. CISF DIG SS Sarmah emphasised on the fact that security of the plants is a sine qua non for the economic growth and development of the country. He mentioned recent industrial disasters and case studies to establish the importance of such workshops with a common platform in for deliberations on various challengs and exchange of ideas and information for holistic security and protection.