Meghalaya inaugurates CIAT School, Integrated Police Welfare Complex at Baghmara
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma inaugurated the Counter-Insurgency–Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) School and an Integrated Police Welfare Complex in South Garo Hills
Conrad Sangma at the inauguration of the Integrated Police Welfare Complex and Counter-Insurgency & Anti-Terrorism School (Photo - @SangmaConrad / X)
Shillong, Jan 21: The Meghalaya Government today inaugurated the Counter-Insurgency–Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) School and the Integrated Police Welfare Complex at Baghmara in South Garo Hills district.
The establishment of the school is significant as the district was considered one of the most impoverished in the country by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj in 2006. The school is likely to assist development of the district.
South Garo Hills was created in 1992 by bifurcating it from the erstwhile West Garo Hills district and spans an area of 1,887 sq km and a population of 99,105. The district has a 122-km international border with Bangladesh.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma inaugurated the school along with Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong who is in charge of the Home Department. Tynsong noted that “Baghmara (the district headquarters) will now receive the same attention and development as other districts”.
Along with the CIAT School, the additional complex includes six components – a hospital, dispensary, officers’ mess, JCOs’ mess, police welfare training centre, sports complex, and recreational centre.
Some of the facilities, including the dispensary and sports complex, are yet to be completed. Tynsong stated these would be completed in the coming years.
The project was a brainchild of the then SP Davis NR Marak, who is now an Inspector General of Police. Work on the project began in February 2022.
The CIAT School has been established in the district due to the presence of dense forests, challenging tropical weather, and difficult terrain, which makes it an ideal location for advanced counter-insurgency training.
Meanwhile, DGP I Nongrang described the inauguration as a moment of continuity and vision in policing, highlighting the foresight of officers who initiated the project decades ago.
She stressed that the CIAT School is envisioned as a centre of excellence, adding that “the training imparted here will not be theoretical but will be conducted by officers who have faced real field situations”.