Forces, ministries told to plug gaps in coastal security

New Delhi, Mar 31 (PTI) With Mumbai attacks exposing
chinks in the coastal security apparatus, Defence Minister A K
Antony Tuesday asked the armed forces and ministries dealing
with maritime activities to "plug the gaps" within a timeframe
and ramp up implementation of the maritime security plan.

At a meeting of the Defence Ministry top brass with
secretaries of Home, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shipping and
Fisheries Ministries here, Antony told them to maintain utmost
vigil all along the 7,500-km-long coastline to prevent
recurrence of any such terror attacks.

The meeting comes a day after a high alert was sounded
along the Kerala coast after a boat carrying suspected LTTE
cadres in Thyckal Beach was sighted but a search yielded no
results.

"All concerned agencies should plug gaps in coastal
security within a definite time frame. The maritime security
plan approved by the government recently should be speedily
implemented. Utmost vigilance must be maintained all along the
coastline so that the Mumbai-like incidents do not recur,"
Antony told the meeting.

Calling for a regular monitoring of all aspects of
coastal security, Antony told the meeting that there should be
no delays in implementing the maritime security plan.

The meeting was attended among others by Cabinet
Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta,
Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra and
Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.

"All aspects of coastal security should be monitored
regularly so that there is no delays in implementation of the
maritime security plan," the Minister said.

The over hour-long meeting, Defence Ministry
sources said, also reviewed the progress made in coastal
security and coordinated arrangements for the security of
offshore platforms of oil companies.

In particular, the Defence Minister wanted to know
about the progress made in introducing fishing vessel
identification system, identity cards for fishermen,
installation of coastal radars, joint control room for navy
and coast guard, intelligence sharing among all agencies and
procurement of boats and aircraft.

The role of the state governments in maritime security
and setting up of police stations in coastal areas also came
up for discussion at the meeting, sources added.

Following the November 26 terror attacks in Mumbai,
the government had cleared Rs 6,000-crore worth of acquisition
including fast attack crafts, off shore patrol vessels,
coastal surveillance radars and helicopters for the Navy and
Coast Guard. PTI NCB
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