Tamil Nadu on alert for possible threats

In view of the "vulnerability" of the Tamil Nadu coast following the Sri Lankan Army's offensive against the LTTE, India on Saturday said it has alerted the southern State against possible threats.

"The Tamil Nadu coast is also vulnerable. We have sensitised the Tamil Nadu Government," Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram said.

The Tamil Nadu Government was fully aware of the nature of the threats and was "fully alive to the threats", he told reporters. Since the country's 7,500 km coastline was vulnerable, a coastal security scheme had been launched and soon a coastal command would be in place, Chidambaram said.

The decision to set up the coastal command was taken in the wake of terrorists using the sea-route to launch attacks in Mumbai last November.

PTI