PC meets FBI in New York

New York, Sept. 9: On a visit here, the home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, had a first-hand experience of how the US’ financial capital, which is on the terror radar, is protected by security agencies from terrorist attacks.
Mr Chidambaram, who arrived here on the first leg of his four-day US visit on Wednesday, was briefed by officials from the FBI, intelligence and security agencies and New York Police about the measures being taken by them to prevent any Mumbai-type terrorist attacks.
From walking at the Penn Station, which handles thousands of train passengers every day, to a briefing by the New York Police Department (NYPD), which had made several changes in its counter-terrorism measures post-26/11 attacks, Mr Chidambaram and his team of officials got to know how a mega city like New York can be protected from terrorists without causing much inconvenience to its residents.
Mr Chidambaram was also told about the coast guard facility at State Island. It was an important aspect of his trip given that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26 last year entered Mumbai through the sea route. Coastal security is an integral part of New York’s counter-terrorism mechanism. At Big Apple, Mr Chidambaram was at the Joint Terror Task Force Centre of the FBI in New York, where he was given an exclusive briefing by the NYPD on the steps being taken by them to protect the city.