New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard has
established 35 stations along the coastline and regular joint
patrolling is being conducted by the Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal
Police, and Customs to enhance security, government told the
Rajya Sabha today.
In a written reply to the House, Defence Minister A K
Antony said, "35 stations have already been established along
the Indian coastline which operate with both surface and air
assets."
"Joint operational exercises are conducted on regular
basis by Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police, Customs and
others and the intelligence mechanism has been streamlined
through creation of Joint Operation Centres and Multi-Agency
Coordination mechanism," he said.
Stressing that government attaches utmost importance to
coastal security and surveillance, he said, "Review and
monitoring of coastal security mechanism is a continuous
process."
Several measures to strengthen coastal security,
including improving surveillance mechanism and enhanced
patrolling by security agencies following an integrated
approach have been put in place, he said.
The Minister said that installation of radars covering
the country`s coastline and islands is also an essential part
of this process and deployment of assets is done as per the
threat inputs, perceptions and requirements.
The Defence Minister also informed the House about coast
guard stations located in Gujarat and induction of Inshore
Patrol Vessels (IPV) in the force.
PTI
