Bhubaneshwar, June 7 : The Orissa government has started the process of forming a State Industrial Security Force of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to combat the threat to different mining and industrial establishments in the state.



"An official of the rank of inspector general of police will be commandant of the proposed SISF," said the state''s Director General of Police, Manmohan Praharaj.



"The SISF would be deployed in major industrial hubs in Rourkela, Damonjodi, Angul, Paradip, Kalinga nagar and Jhasrsuguda," he added.



According to sources, the state has signed nearly 73 Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) for an investment of about Rs six lakh crore in the mining and industrial sector for the next five years.



Mines in Orissa are often the target of Naxalites. To safeguard lives and property in these mines, it has been decided to prepare a list of all explosives stored in the magazines houses of different mining companies in the state. (ANI)