Terror threat: Odisha govt issues SOP for colleges, varsities

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Apr 3:

Taking note of possible terrorist attack on educational institutions, the Odisha government, as per the directive of the Centre, has issued standard operating procedure (SOP) for all colleges and universities in the state to ensure safety for the students.

As per the SOP issued by the Higher Education department, each college and university must have 3-4 gates, each gate to be manned by 3-4 security guards on 24-hour duty.

There will be a police control room at these gates and inside the premises of these educational institutions with the telephone numbers of the local police station, which would be clearly visible to any person so that he/she can inform the police if any untoward incident takes place.

Besides, the height of the boundary wall would be raised so that it would not be possible for anyone to enter into these premises by jumping over the wall. The wall would be mounted with barbed wire.

This apart, the authorities of these colleges and universities have been asked to install CCTV cameras inside and outside their institutions. The CCTVs must have the facilities to store the footage for 72 hours. There must be a walkie-talkie communication between the nodal security officer and the security guards.

The SOP would also require an emergency alarm system to be put in place in these institutions to keep the students and the staff alert on any untoward incident.

To make the students aware of the kidnapping incident, there must be a mock drill at regular intervals to impart them the training to protect them against such incident.