Home Guards in Bihar will now been seen carrying sophisticated weapons instead of the traditional .303 rifles, having undergone training by the Army in using weapons like self-loading rifles (SLR) and 9mm pistols, a top police officer said on Tuesday.
“They have also been trained for disaster management by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to effectively contribute during natural disasters,” Shobha Ohotker, the director general and commandant general (Home Guard and fire services), said while addressing a function at the Central Training Institute, Bihta, to mark the 76th foundation day of the Home Guard.
“The government is spending ₹29 crore on their training this year so that they could be more effective,” she said, adding that the new Home Guard headquarters would come up soon and its layout for G+3 floors has been passed.
She said the Home Guard and fire services together have a strength of 40,286 at present, of which 33,071 are deployed on law and order duty and security of public undertakings. “They provide the main assistance to the police force and have delivered in difficult situations, including elections — right from panchayat level to general elections. They also assist firemen in case of fire incidents,” Ohotker said.
She said the process to recruit another 8,000 personnel in the Home Guard and fire services would be completed within a month. “All our offices are being computerised to speed up the processes and make the office paperless. In Vaishali, a regional training centre is coming up at a cost of ₹14 crore while another one is proposed at Saharsa,” the officer said.
The DG said six big hydraulic platforms and 34 medium hydraulic platforms are being purchased for firemen in the state.