Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran laid the foundation stone for the second coastal police station in the State at Vadakara on Thursday.
The station building will come up in the 40 cents of land given by the Vadakara municipality to the State government.
Addressing the gathering after the stone-laying ceremony, Mr. Ramachandran said that the new police station would offer more security to the coastal people and improve the existing surveillance mechanism in the area.
The coastal police station would also pave the way for the protection of fishermen along the coastal area, he added.
Better coordination
Mr. Ramachandran also said better coordination between the coastal police and coastal people would certainly help towards flawless costal security.
“A separate police station is being considered for Mahe,” he added.
According to Mr. Ramachandran, Kerala would get 10 more coastal police stations in the second phase of the project if the State government was provided with the required land for the buildings.
Special ID cards
As part of strengthening coastal security in the country, the government had already issued special identity cards to over 67 lakh fishermen in India besides registering their fishing boats, he added.
Kerala Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan presided over the function.
Additional Director General of police N. Shankar Reddy, City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar, K. Dasan, MLA, District panchayat president K. Jameela and Vadakara municipal chairperson K. Santha were present.
‘Firm on stance’
Speaking to reporters after the foundation-stone laying ceremony, Mr. Ramachandran affirmed that he had not deviated from his earlier stance to conduct a CBI inquiry into the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case.
“I still stand firm on what I have already said on the matter,” he clarified.
No divide
Later responding to questions by mediapersons on Mr. Ramachandran’s stance, Mr. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan claimed that there was no divide between him and the Union Minister on the issue.
“The topic is hyped by the media, but we are still maintaining good relations,” Mr. Radhakrishnan said.
