Coast Guard steps up vigil with new station

RAIGAD - The Indian Coast Guard, along with the Indian Navy and other agencies, would spare no efforts to safeguard the nation from any external threat from sea, Coast Guard Director General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra said Thursday.

Speaking after the commissioning of a new station at the Murud-Janjira town here, he said the responsibility of the coastal security from shoreline up to the territorial waters has been entrusted to the Coast Guard after the Mumbai terror attacks.

His wife Ragini Chopra formally launched the new station.

Murud-Janjira, famed for its ancient sea forts, will be one of the three such stations funded by the union home ministry. Besides Murud-Janjira and Dahanu in Maharashtra, the third station is at Veraval in Gujarat.

“The ICG is pursuing enhancement of its surveillance capabilities. The present manpower will be gradually doubled in a few years besides corresponding infrastructure development,” Chopra said.

The ICG Murud-Janjira will undertake joint coastal patrolling along with the Maharashtra maritime police, customs and fisheries departments to thwart any threat, boost coastal surveillance, prevent smuggling of arms and explosives, and prevent infiltration of anti-social elements through the sea routes.

Besides Murud-Janjira, another station is being planned for Maharashtra in Ratnagiri district, adjacent to Raigad, by 2011.

The ICG is also planning to set up its first fullfledged air station in the state, which would be crucial for maritime surveillance and search and rescue operations in the Arabian Sea along Maharashtra’s coastline.