Two hundred coastal wardens drawn from fishing hamlets across the State will be shortly inducted into the State coastal police.
The move assumes significance in the wake of the suspected incident of illegal migration of a group of Sri Lankan refugees by the sea from Munambam.
“Intelligence gathering is one of the aspects of the training syllabus for coastal wardens, being drawn up in consultations with the Navy and the Coast Guard,” a senior Coastal police officer told The Hindu on condition of anonymity.
The government order for the appointment of coastal wardens on one-year contract was issued last November and 200 potential wardens have been recruited since.
They were selected on the basis of physical and swimming tests and a four-month long training at the Police Training Academy is likely to get under way soon on receiving the nod from the State Police Chief.
18 police stations
“The coastal wardens will be deployed across 18 coastal police stations in the State with each district getting about 24 wardens. This will strengthen coastal police stations, which now have about five to six officials,” said the officer.
The sea swimming skill of the newly recruited wardens and their familiarity with the weather conditions are expected to augment the functioning of the coastal police.
Since the recruits are from the fishing community, the coastal police could bank on them to gather operational intelligence, which will help prevent occurrence of people smuggling, human trafficking, other unlawful activities and terror-related developments.
The recruits are also familiar with the functioning of boats, which will come in handy in the operation of fast interceptor boats available with the coastal police.
Charles George, president of the Matsya Thozhilali Aikya Vedi, said the induction of coastal wardens into the coastal force would help the police avert Munambam-like incidents.
