Fishermen to help sanitise coastline

They will join the Navy, Coast Guard and Mumbai police in mock-drill on April 11 to check whether forces are capable of averting a 26/11-like attack

Fishermen to help sanitise coastline

They will join the Navy, Coast Guard and Mumbai police in mock-drill on April 11 to check whether forces are capable of averting a 26/11-like attack

Around 2,000 fishermen, accompanied by 7,000 Navy, Coast Guard and policemen, will participate in a two-day marine operation in the high seas to protect the state's coastline, particularly major installations such as BARC, Tarapore Atomic Energy Centre and defence bases.

"Operation Sagar Kavach, starting April 11, will include a fleet of more than 70 patrol vessels," said police sources.

An informal survey conducted by MiD DAY shows only 28 interceptors of the sanctioned 58 patrol boats are made available for defending the city.

Only 18 interceptors have been delivered to patrol a 700-km stretch starting from Dahanu (bordering Gujarat) to Sawantwadi (bordering Goa).

Ideally, 28 high-speed boats should have been allocated for patrolling. Since there are inadequate numbers of interceptors, the Thane Rural Police are left with no option but to hire fishermen with their old vessels.

The fishermen will now form a part of the Sagar Rakshak. A formation of commandos from the Navy, Coast Guard and members from Sagar Rakshak will also take part in the high seas operations.

Six Coast Guard stations, equipped with the high-speed patrol boats, will also be put to test during the operations.

The operations includes mock drill to protect important installations along the coast. It also covers minor and major ports along the state's coastline from Dahanu in the north to Sawantwadi in the south.

Inspector General of Police (Konkan Range) Param Bir Singh said, "The mock drill is an attempt to protect the entire coast of Maharashtra."

Even as senior officers are giving final touches to the operations, questions are being raised whether all the 58 interceptors would be ready to take part in the drive.

Naval helicopters will also take part in the reconnaissance operations trying to track the enemy in mock attack drills. "The entire coastline will become the hub of activities," a police source said.

Some of the newly-acquired bulletproof boats are expected to zip along the coast at around 50 nautical miles.
The Union government is spending around Rs 250 crore on coastal security.

A large number of possible landing sites will be tested during the 48-hour exercise. "Policemen posing as suspicious enemies are expected to be weeded out and threats neutralised," he added.

WHAT IS SAGAR KAVACH?
A maritime security exercise conducted off the Mumbai coast to check whether the Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) are in place after 26/11.
Navy and Coast Guard are part of the annual operations.
All patrol vessels of the Mumbai police and other districts participate in the drills.
u00a0
WHAT THEY DO
The entire force is divided into two groups namely Red and Blue. While one of the groups is assigned the job of defending the coast, the other, posing as enemies, attack.
Plans of maneuvering the vessels are a closely-guarded secret, at least till the exercises are over. Mock raids are carried out on Coastal check
posts to see whether the jawans are vigilant
enough to foil an attack.
u00a0
SAGAR RAKSHAKs
Sagar Rakshaks are drawn from villagers, mostly fishermen living on the coast. They form the second line of defence after the police and Coast Guard.
The district administrations have enlisted hundreds of Sagar Rakshaks with dozens of boats and local crew, mostly manned by fishermen, to assist the police to keep watch along the coastal stretches.
"A large number of possible landing sites have been brought under round-the-clock surveillance to avoid the another 26/11 like situation. A large fleet is required to accomplish the task," said the officer.