New Delhi: Defence Minister A K Antony
on Thursday carried out an in-depth review of coastal security
mechanism put in place post-26/11 and ordered Navy and Coast
Guard to quickly integrate all maritime agencies into the
security grid to plug "gaps" in the apparatus.
At a 90-minute meeting in South Block here, Antony
also did a quick check on the progress made in acquiring new
ships, patrol vessels and interceptor boats for the Navy and
Coast Guard for strengthening surveillance along the 7,500-km
long coastline.
Addressing top security brass, the Defence Minister
said that coastal security should "be the prime concern and
all (agencies) follow up the measures taken in a time-bound
manner to plug the gaps in the apparatus".
He also said Mumbai-type attacks "will not be
tolerated at any cost" and asked all maritime agencies to
hasten the process of integration with the coastal security
grid and coordination in intelligence gathering and sharing
during operations.
The meeting was attended among others by National
Security Adviser M K Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary K M
Chandrasekhar, Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, Coast Guard
Director General Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, apart from
Secretaries for Shipping, Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry, and
officials from Home Ministry and Border Management
departments.
Bureau Report
