The district police have beefed up coastal security by posting guards at the watchtower in Dhanushkodi and at strategic points, and introducing night patrol following an alert after a Pakistan terror boat heading for Gujarat exploded and sunk in midsea when it was intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) recently.
Superintendent of Police N.M. Mylvahanan, who reviewed the security with Coastal Security Group (SCG), Q Branch and local police in Rameswaram on Tuesday evening, decided to use the watchtower at Muguntharayar Chathiram in Dhanushkodi for surveillance.
The about 30-metre-tall tower, built by the Tourism Department for tourists, remained unused after it suffered corrosion. The SP, who inspected the tower, decided to post guards in it for round-the-clock surveillance.
Guards with night vision binoculars could observe movement of vessels for a long distance towards Talaimannar in Sri Lanka, the SP said on Wednesday. “The guards could spot any intrusion from Arichamunai point,” he said.
As the top tier of the tower had been corroded, the guards would be posted one tier below till a wooden platform was placed on top, he said.
Armed guards would be posted at Arichamunai and Muguntharayar Chathiram, the two landing points in Dhanushkodi, and commandoes of Quick Reaction Team (QRT) at Agni Theertham in front of Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple, he said. He said the district police would press into service two motorcycle patrols during nights from Verkodu to Dhanushkodi and from Olaikuda to Agni Theertham in Rameswaram, while the CSG would use its interceptor boats for sea patrolling.
Special Sub-Inspectors of Police acting as Panchayat Liaison Officers had been alerted to maintain close contact with heads of all the 184 hamlets along the 276 km-long coastline in the district.
Mr. Mylvahanan said Coastal Security Ramnad, a standing committee formed last year with nodal officers from various security agencies for sharing intelligence on happenings in the sea, was functioning well. Additional Director General of Police (CSG) C. Sylendra Babu and SP Vanitha had joined as members of the group, he added.
