Uttar Pradesh will deploy two battalions of the Special Range Security Battalion to guard Chief Minister Mayawatis high-priority Noida park,work at which is nearing completion. The Special Range Security Battalion is a specialised unit of the police raised by the state government last year for the specific purpose of protecting monuments to Dalit icons at eight parks and memorials in Lucknow,besides the park in Noida. SSP,Gautam Budh Nagar Surya Nath Singh confirmed that two battalions of the force have been sanctioned for duty at the park. These personnel are expected to provide much needed protection to the sensitive monument, Singh said. The decision to deploy the force a battalion each of male and female forces,according to sources comes ahead of the expected inauguration of the park by the chief minister. The inauguration has been postponed several times,apparently because Mayawati has not been satisfied with the work. Noida Authority CEO Rama Raman said an officer from the UP police headquarters in Lucknow had visited Noida on a reconnaissance mission recently. They have done a recce of the park and the accommodation that would be required to station the two battalions. For men,the police lines at Surajpur has been okayed,but for the women battalion,the SSP is yet to send us the request for their requirement, Raman said. The specialised memorial protection force was requisitioned after the district police found itself stretched to provide additional personnel for the security of the park and the statues in it. The force will be stationed at Noida and Greater Noida so that they can be moved to the park at short notice, Singh said. The memorial protection force was sanctioned by a government order in May 2010. A total 794 Home Guards were recruited in September after a month-long interview process involving 10,000 candidates,carried out at nine police range headquarters. The personnel,who wear navy blue trousers and sky blue shirts,are authorised to search and seize,but not to make arrests.
