“We have sent a proposal to the Railway Board in Delhi for infrastructural development at the centre and await their response. Mirror also spoke to RPF Pune divisional security commissioner Arun Tripathi, who admitted that there is a distinct lack of infrastructure at the facility. When contacted, the inspector in charge of the dog training centre, KK Ambawat, refused to comment, claiming that since he has taken up the helm just three months ago, he is not fully aware of the issues. And with no dedicated classroom set up for this, these sessions are simply conducted in a gym set up for RPF personnel. The specialists also informed that as per the programme, dogs have to undergo indoor classroom classes. Due to this, our efforts go to waste,” lamented another trainer. Canines are very instinctive and they sense danger, therefore not giving the sessions a 100 per cent. It also contains lot of sharp stones that can hurt the dogs’ paws in trainings. “The ground is not even and there is some dry, rough grass on it. But trainers here were clear that the lack of infrastructure is affecting their programme. In the absence of kennels, dogs stay in their respective trainers’ rooms for now.”Īt present, the centre is hosting 11 dogs for training, of which some have come from Eastern railways. However, at present we have no such arrangement to nurture the canines coming to the training centre. With their skills and intelligence, they also require a lot of care. They are trained in three categories - explosives detection, narcotics detection and tracker dog training. The trainer shared, “These special dogs possess a high sniffing capacity. The dogs that the centre caters to are usually unique and especially talented. In fact, the facility has already acquired nearly 20 dog trainers from various parts of India - but due to the lack of infrastructure, they are not able to cater to the need of all the divisions, and are forced to decline most of the requests. However, since the declaration, absolutely no customised facility for dogs has come up in the space,” one of the dog trainers deployed here told Mirror.Īfter news spread about the training centre, numerous other divisions of RPF across the country had also started contacting officials here to send their dogs for training. As per the plan, the centre was to have an ultra-modern training ground with obstacle training equipment, a specially designed swimming pool for the dogs, as well as air-conditioned kennels for them to stay in. “Considering the climate of Pune, which can be suitable for sniffer dogs, railway officials in Delhi decided to set up the NPDTC here. While sniffer dogs of Pune’s RPF division earlier underwent training here, the Railway Board decided to set up the national camp here in 2018 - yet apart from the announcement, no strides have been made to upgrade the structure for its new purpose. The lack of infrastructure at this centre on Tadiwala Road, earlier known as the RPF K9 School Pune, has been in status quo for at least two years now. Uneven rock-strewn grounds with prickly grass, a gym for people turned into a makeshift training room and zero dog kennels - this is the harsh reality of the Railway Protection Force’s (RPF) National Police Dog Training Centre (NPDTC), a facility that was supposed to be a highly-specialised hub to bring some of the sharpest canines into the security apparatus of this paramilitary wing. Since declaration of national facility at Tadiwala Road by Railway Board in 2018, skilled canines and trainers deal with makeshift classrooms, no kennels and a rocky ground officials admit upgrade is needed
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