Porous coastline a cause for worry
Mumbai could have been spared of Wednesday’s terror strike. A few
smart and quick decisions and implementations of policies on the ground
by the Centre and the State Government could have averted the worst
attack on the Indian soil.
It was always a possibility that terrorist organisations such as the
Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) could use the sea route to enter India. So a
secured 720- km coastline, in Maharashtra, could have pre-empted such an
attack.
Two days after the strike in India’s financial capital, the Centre on
Friday finally woke up to order a special audit of security in all major
ports of the country. It asked the Indian Space Research Organisation to
design a lowcost boat tracking system for keeping a watch on the fishing
vessels - the kind that the 20-odd heavily-armed terrorists used to
reach Mumbai on Wednesday night.
In 2005, the Union home ministry had decided to buy 194 high-powered
speed boats for the state police and 15 interceptor boats for the Coast
Guard for “close coastal patrolling” in Maharashtra and Gujarat. But, no
such boat has been bought to date.
After a meeting on Friday between the Navy, Coast Guard, CISF and the
Home Ministry, the Centre asked the Port Chairpersons to send their
requisitions to the security agencies. All major ports have been asked
to acquire at least two speed boats for patrolling the waterfront. The
CISF will deploy a Marine Commando Unit in every port.
A year ago, security forces had arrested two LeT terrorists who had
possibly used the sea route and started their journey from the Pakistani
port city of Karachi. This case had prompted the government to inform
Parliament about the LeT threat. But, in hindsight, those words ring
hollow. Central intelligence agencies blame the Centre and state
governments for the delay in improving coastal security.
In discussions between the security agencies and the Maharashtra
government’s home department, the focus has been on the Gateway of
India.
The first two agencies have a running feud over who should register
certain types of vessels. A specific warning this June, that the
Al-Qaeda and LTTE could use the porous coastline of western India to
launch a massive attack, went unheeded. The home ministry merely asked
Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Orissa to implement the Coastal Security Scheme.
Several agencies jointly patrol the coasts. But there is no mechanism
for smooth coordination. To address this, the Centre decided to set up a
Rs 1,400 crore coastal security network and 1,000 km of creek line
across the districts of Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri.
But neither the Centre nor the state government was willing to foot
the bill. Now, after paying a heavy price for not sensing the gravity of
the threat perception, deputy chief minister R.R. Patil said the Centre
had cleared a grant of Rs 41 crore for high-speed patrol boats - an
authorisation which came only 48 hours late.
Courtesy: Mail Today |
