As part of stepping up security and surveillance, the Beypore port will soon have a high-end baggage clearance facility.
The electronic components had been brought to the port and the installation would be completed by the month-end, Port Officer Abraham V. Kuriakose told The Hindu.
The technicians sent by the Lakshadweep administration would install the equipment. It would be handled jointly by the Lakshadweep and Beypore police. The services of Intelligence Bureau officials too would be available, he added.
The port had been using metal detectors to scan luggage. The proposal for separate baggage checking was submitted as metal-detector checking was found impractical with the rise in number of passengers.
With the installation of the facility, the port would complete the first phase of its major security upgrade. The proposals submitted earlier had stressed the need for improved screening mechanisms, similar to that used at international airports.
“With the total security upgrade, the port authorities here would be able to take checking practices to international standards. We will be able to check all products transported through the port to various destinations,” Mr. Kuriakose said. A major focus would be on foreign goods brought to the State, he added.
Recently, the port was brought under closed-circuit television coverage. Not less than seven high-power cameras had been installed at important locations for round-the-clock surveillance. The Coast Guard too had installed cameras with extended zoom features to cover the entire area including the breakwaters.
“For easy navigation of ships, buoys too have been installed at select locations off the Beypore coast,” Mr. Kuriakose said.
