Even as the debate on No Confidence Motion against Congress government was going on in the state Assembly and Union home minister P Chidambaram was being blamed for the present situation in the state, he inaugurated National Security Guard (NSG)'s first regional hub, in the city on Monday.

With the launch of the facility, an NSG team from Hyderabad can now be airborne in 64 minutes flat to tackle any terror-related emergency in Andhra Pradesh or neighbouring states. This NSG regional hub is the first in the country to be inaugurated with permanent infrastructure and advanced training facilities.

The National Building Construction Company (NBCC) took four months to build the centre in Tirumalgherry on 22 acres of land. The project cost the exchequer Rs 37.96 crore. Chidambaram gave a sequential description of the NSG's promptness. "The team will be off the campus in 19 minutes, reach Hakeempet airbase in 15 minutes and, 30 minutes later, they will be airborne in a special aircraft," the home minister said. In the aftermath of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, the Union government had proposed to set up four regional NSG hubs - in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad - to nationally counter any terror strikes by reducing the response time in dispatching a commando unit.

Talking about the operational skills of NSG personnel, the home minister said: "The commando unit is one of the best in the world and has come a long way since the Mumbai counter terror operation when we realised that the NSG lacked proper communication infrastructure." The Hyderabad hub is equipped with every facility - commando barracks, administrative offices, dog kennels etc.