Police Commissioner P.S. Harsha on Thursday emphasised the need for strengthening and enhancing cooperation among various agencies for effective search and rescue capabilities in the area of rescue and said that periodical interactions between them will help facilitate it.
He was speaking after inaugurating the second State-level maritime search and rescue workshop for Karnataka as a part of nationwide drive by the Coast Guard for effective management of SAR over the Indian Search and Rescue Region organised by Headquarters, No 3 Coast Guard District (Karnataka) here.
Dr. Harsha said effective communication network among the stakeholders was a must for implementing successful SAR operations.
Recalling the fundamental humanitarian obligation of assistance to any person in distress at Sea, he said SAR services are aligned with international standards. The workshop, with the theme, ‘Fishermen are our Friends - Meenugararu Namma Snehitaru’, was attended by representatives from various stakeholders in the State.
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Speaking on the occasion, DIG S.S. Dasila, Commander, Coast Guard, Karnataka, hailed the stakeholders for keeping the coast of Karnataka safe for the seafarers by rendering selfless service.
Given the vast search and rescue gegion of 4.6 million sq km and with multiplicity of stakeholders, Mr. Dasila said, “We recognise fishermen as an important subset of Maritime SAR at sea. We, the Coast Guard, ascribes highest importance to the safety and security of Indian fishermen further providing assistance to Indian fishermen at sea while they are in distress through regular patrolling.” He said various activities related to fishermen safety are implemented by Coast Guard through community interaction programmes.
For better accessibility, the Coast Guard has provided a toll-free telephone number, 1554, for search and rescue assistance to fishermen at sea.
The ICG is responsible for executing /coordinating SAR missions in the Indian Search and Rescue Region with Director General ICG being the National Maritime SAR Coordinating Authority.
ISRR is divided into three areas with maritime rescue coordination centres located at Mumbai, Chennai and Port Blair.