The government on Thursday asked the Navy tasked with the overall coastal security of the country to review and draw a plan to close gaps, if any, in the new apparatus established after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
At a review meeting, Defence Minister A.K. Antony also asked all agencies associated with the plan to speed up the process of integration while acknowledging that there was greater cohesion now than last year.
Mr. Antony said the country would not tolerate any more Mumbai-type attack. He asked the Navy to take a fresh look at the security system.
The meeting was attended by National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekaran, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Nirmal Verma, Director-General of Coast Guard Anil Chopra, and Secretaries in the Ministries of Defence, Border Management, Shipping and Animal Husbandry.
Admiral Verma gave details of the enhanced patrolling and surveillance in place and the joint exercises by the Navy, Coast Guard, Coastal Police and Customs to check the efficacy of the new system.
During the September/October 2009 Operation Rakshak, he said 165 merchant vessels and 259 fishing vessels were interrogated while the Coast Guard conducted a joint exercise “Barricade” along the Tamil Nadu coast, with 13 agencies participating. So far, 11 joint exercises have been conducted along the coastal States and based on intelligence inputs, nine more took place along the west coast.
A series of 46 radars were being established along the coast including on island territories at a cost of Rs. 300 crore. This chain will include other sensors for identification of any vessel near the coast.
