New vessel: Rajesh Doss, Inspector General of Police, Coastal Security Group, and Superintendent of Police Ashwin Kotnis taking out a trial run in the newly acquired surveillance vessel in Cuddalore on Wednesday.
CUDDALORE:
Rajesh Doss, Inspector General of Police, Coastal Security Group (CSG), along with Superintendent of Police Ashwin Kotnis, took out a trial run in the newly acquired “fast interceptor boat” of the Marine Police from Cuddalore Port on Wednesday.
Before the trial run, Mr. Doss told reporters that it was an exercise to get familiarised with the terrain. The vessel would be utilised by the Marine Police for mounting surveillance on the movement of boats and preventing any possible attempt to infiltrate into the coast. The Marine Police would work in close coordination with Village Vigilance Committees comprising local fishermen and police. Terming the toll-free number 1093 as a “magic number,” Mr. Doss said that it would establish immediate contact with the CSG to reach out help to the fishermen in distress and weed out any undisclosed objects.
On occasional clashes between the fishermen and the coastal security personnel on the high seas, Mr. Doss said it could be owing to frayed tempers because of working in harsh conditions for long hours. He acknowledged the fact that it was a question of how to get along with the fishermen rather than confronting them. The personnel should get “little more friendly” with the fishermen, he said.
Mr. Doss denied that language barrier could be the reason for such friction because Tamil-speaking personnel too were on board. As for coastal security, Mr. Doss said that it was being done in a traditional and cost-effective manner. While Mr. Doss continued his voyage up to Poomphuhar, Mr. Kotnis cut his trip at Sirkazhi and returned to Cuddalore. Mr. Kotnis said that at certain points they halted to interact with fishermen. The CSG had already acquired all-terrain vehicles and the acquisition of the fast interceptor boat would add more striking power to the force, he said. The 12-seater vessel with well equipped cabin could attain a speed of 35 knots. At present, the boat was being operated by specially recruited drivers who retired from the Navy and the Coast Guard.
The personnel drawn from the local police station did not have much of sea-faring experience and were trained only in swimming pool. They would now get exposure to the sea and its vicissitudes, Mr. Kotnis added.
