THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: DGP K S Balasubramanian on Friday stressed the need for more joint exercises with the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to hone the skills of the state police in ensuring coastal security.
The DGP was speaking after launching the Coast Guard interceptor boat ICGS C-407 at Vizhinjam. Only eight of the proposed coastal police stations are operational and 10 more are in various stages of development. But the police are also facing an acute shortage of manpower, especially boat drivers, even though the force now has a number of boats. He requested the services of the Navy and the Coast Guard in training police personnel.
Inspector General S P S Basra, Coast Guard Commander (Western Region), stressed the need for an ‘’efficient framework’’ for managing security issues in the sea off southern Kerala which has been witnessing a steady increase in marine traffic. ‘’The Indian Ocean Region has emerged the third biggest in terms of trade and transportation,’’ he said. Better co-ordination between the Navy, Coast Guard and the state police force is vital in this regard, he said.
The commissioning of ICGS C-407 has taken the total number of interceptor vessels in Vizhinjam to two. The station stands to get one more in the near future. Deputy Commandant Deep Chandra Mathpal is in charge of the vessel built by L&T Shipbuilding. ICGS C-407 has a complement of one officer and 11 enrolled personnel.