Adding more muscle to the capability of fighting against terrorists across India, Union Home Minister P Chidamabaram on Wednesday declared the regional hub of elite National Security Guards at Hyderabad operational, and dedicated it to the service of the nation.

At a simple ceremony held at the old Hyderabad airport at Bowenpally, Chidambarram presented a scroll to Sandeep Sen, the commander of Hyderabad centre, marking the launch of the NSG hub, which will initially have 241 commandos.

The elite commandos, also called Black Cats, wearing black uniform and faces covered in masks, wielding automatic machine guns in the hands, gave a glimpse of their striking presence.

Text: Mohammed Siddique in Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy hoisted the NSG flag in the presence of the top brass of the anti terrorist force including its Director General N P S Aulakh.

This is one of the four regional hubs established in the country. While the hub in Mumbai was inaugurated by the Union home minister on Tuesday evening, the hubs at Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkatta were launched on Wednesday.

Recalling that soon after the November 26 terrorist attacks on Mumbai the government had promised to establish four regional hubs by June 30, Chidambaram said, "I am happy that we have been able to keep that promise."

Chidambaram also said the idea of regional hubs was born out of the fact that it had taken several hours for the NSG commandos to reach Mumbai from their headquarters in Manesar, Haryana, during the November 26 attacks.

Now the NSG should be able to reach any place in India without losing any time to deal with a terrorist attack or hijacking, he said.

To enable the force to move immediately, it has been given the right to requisition any aircraft any time, he added.

Speaking to the media on the occasion, the home minister said that while initially the Hyderabad regional hub with 241 commandos will work from Tirumalgiri, where 22 acres of land has been allocated, government will establish a regional centre at Ibrahimpatnam near Hyderabad on the lines of Manesar. It will have 5,150 commandos.

But he said that it will be a major project requiring large amounts of money and will take a few years to be developed.

"When the regional centre at Ibrahimpatnam is established, it will become a major training centre for all the south Indian forces in raising their own commando force, anti-terrorist force and quick reaction teams etc."

The infrastructure and other facilities at Tirumalgiri will be developed at the cost of Rs 37 crore, said the NSG director general.

Hailing NSG as an elite force specially trained in anti-terrorist operations, Chidambaram said that  53% of its troops come from the army and 47% comes from the paramilitary.

"These are the finest fighting young men in India and they are specially trained to tackle terrorism and hijacking," he said.

"The NSG is an anti-terrorist and anti-hijacking force. It is not expected to engage in search or destroy operations. For that there are special forces like the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Forces) and the state has the Greyhounds," he said.

Chidambaram added that the NSG will work together with OCTOPUS, the elite anti-terrorist force raised by Andhra Pradesh recently.

"I would like to assure all that all-India presence of NSG will ensure swift, precise and deterrent action. The NSG will always remain devoted to its motto of Sarvatra Sarvottam Suraksha and meet any challenge to the nation's security whenever and wherever called upon to do so," said Aulakh.

Lt Col. Sandeep Sen, who will head Hyderabad hub had led successful operations against terrorists at Hotel Taj Mahal and Nariman House in Mumbai, during the November 26 attacks.