Training dogs to catch terror-mongers in Ludhiana

Two-year-old dog Lakshmi keeps a constant vigil on anyone sounding unscrupulous at the Ludhiana Junction Railway Station. Her sniffing nose keeps all the passengers under scrutiny as she is on the lookout of mischievous elements.

By Karan Kapoor

Ludhiana, Dec.8 : Two-year-old dog Lakshmi keeps a constant vigil on anyone sounding unscrupulous at the Ludhiana Junction Railway Station. Her sniffing nose keeps all the passengers under scrutiny as she is on the lookout of mischievous elements.

Every time a train stops at the junction Lakshmi's job is to sniff out anything suspicious in the luggage.

Security agencies prefer relying on animal's senses than on equipments. For, the modern gadgets are not as efficient as the dogs are in detecting any explosive substances, particularly in crowded places.

Jeevan Singh, a dog handler, said: "We require two or three dogs for sniffing at the railway station so each can work for four hours in a shift and carry out checking at crowded places. Human beings or machine are unable to match a dog."

The qualities of a dog, combined with its ability to receive training and act as per the orders of the master, makes the animal most important in a security setup.

Since its inception in 1999, the Dog Breeding-cum-Training Centre in Phillaur has been training dogs to cater to the needs of the police and security agencies. It is an ultra-modern centre having a capacity to train 44 dogs in a session. It caters to the demands of the entire north India.

Suman Kumar, Special Superintendent of Police, Dog breeding-cum-training centre, Phillaur, said: "We have tied a belt on its back as any police or army officer does while performing his duty. We call this belt as `harness'. After wearing it, the dog understands that he has to carry out his job. It is a part of his training at the Centre."

"Each dog's training lasts 32 weeks and it becomes an expert in detecting narcotics, explosives and track work," he informed.

During training period, the highly pedigreed pups are perfect in obedience. They can track and sniff narcotics and explosives devices.

Suman Kumar said: "The Director-cum-Director General of Police (DGP) at the Punjab Police Academy has given a new assignment to train dogs for rescue and search operations. We are researching in this direction and will soon train the dogs for rescue and search operations. They can help search the victims during national calamities like tsunami or earthquakes."

It takes a thousand dollars for training a dog at the Punjab police dog breeding-cum-training centre in Phillaur.

A sniffer dog's smelling power is 2,000 times more sensitive than that of a human.

The Punjab police dog breeding-cum-training centre in Phillaur has on its roll a specialist to train sniffer dogs to cater to the needs of the police and para-military forces in north India.

Phillaur is the railway junction on the border line of Ludhiana and Jalandhar Cantonment. It was a junction for Lohian and Ferozepur. In pre-partition days, it was the main Timber market of Punjab Region.

ANI