Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The newly raised Orissa Industrial Security Force (OISF), which aims at protecting industrial undertakings and certain other establishments in the state, started functioning Saturday with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik handing over appointment letters to 1,370 constables inducted into the force. Patnaik also released the insignia of OISF at a function at Soochana Bhawan here.
Stressing that the economic growth of a nation is driven mainly by its success in the industrial sector, Patnaik said the need for a dedicated security force to maintain a healthy industrial climate in the state was fulfilled with OISF coming into being.
The 1,370 constables, who include 206 women, will be given training for nine months on the lines of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), said Patnaik.
The state government has created a total of 1,808 posts for OISF, including one inspector general, one deputy inspector general, two commandants, three deputy commandants, six assistant commandants, 15 inspectors (armed), 43 sub-inspectors (armed), 274 havildars, 22 ministerial officers and 68 support staff.
“Orissa’s GDP grew at a robust pace in the past few years reflecting a turning point in the state’s growth story. The state government lays emphasis on leveraging its abundant resources and promoting maximum value addition to create employment opportunities within the state,” said Patnaik. Orissa has made a sweeping progress in all sectors and attracted investments of over 200 billion US dollars during the last decade, he added. “In the last decade, the overall growth of major sectors like power, aluminum, steel and IT exports in the state has been in the range of 400 to 1200 per cent,” said Patnaik.
The formation of OISF follows the enactment of the Orissa Industrial Security Act, 2012 (Orissa Act 7 of 2012) by the state government to provide for the constitution and regulation of an armed force of the state for better protection and security of both state-owned and private industrial undertakings and other vital establishments.
OISF had recently started functioning at its temporary headquarters at Jamujhari on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. ADG (special armed police) B Radhika has been entrusted with the administrative control of OISF. She will be assisted by IG (special armed police) Sanjeeb Panda. Orissa Armed Police Service (OAPS) officers Chandra Sekhar Pradhan and Uday Kumar Rath have been posted as commandants in OISF.
The ceremony was also attended by home secretary Asit Tripathy, DGP KB Singh, ADG (special armed police) B Radhika and IG (special armed police) Sanjeeb Panda, among others.
