KOCHI: While the ‘Save Lakshadweep‘ campaign against the slew of reforms introduced by the Island administration is gaining traction across the country, a new order issued by Lakshadweep Port Shipping and Aviation director Sachin Sharma has raked up a row. The order directing to depute government servants on board local fishing boats for intelligence gathering and to monitor the fishing boats has spread a sense of insecurity among fishermen community.
A meeting chaired by advisor to administrator on June 2 decided to depute responsible government servants on board local fishing boats for intelligence gathering. The order says the decision has been taken to strengthen security measures and monitor local fishing boats and crew. The order directs to intensify checking of manchas or large wooden boats, motorised vessels and other passenger vessels reaching the island and share pre-arrival information of manchas. Directions have been given to install CCTV cameras at ship berthing points and helibase. It also instructs to provide checking facility to scan luggage and passengers at Beypore and Mangaluru.The assistant commandant of CISF has been directed to enhance security at the wharf in Lakshadweep and the cargo and passenger scanning facility at Kochi.
“The Navy and Coast Guard have installed radars and high-resolution cameras in all islands to scan vessels passing through the area. The radars can cover up to 12 nautical miles from the coastline. They conduct awareness campaign among local fishermen seeking information on suspicious vessels roaming around the archipelago. This is an effort to malign the reputation of islanders who are a peace loving community,” said Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal.
“There are around 500 deep sea fishing boats operating from the island. The fishermen say they have no issues in allowing a government official in the boats, but is it practical for the administration to deploy such a large number of officials in boats. If the sea turns rough, who will take care of the officials,” asked district panchayat member K I Nisamuddin.
However, Lakshadweep collector S Askar Ali said the order is part of physical verification procedure initiated by the island administration when there are intelligence inputs regarding security. “The fishing ban period has started and deep sea fishing boats will not be venturing into the sea for the next three months. The order is to monitor country crafts that operate in the lagoon. This is a normal procedure when we get a security alert. The Navy and the Coast Guard watch and take action against vessels intruding into our territorial waters. It is the coastal police and the port authorities who conduct physical verification,” he told TNIE.
Responding to the concerns raised about the growing discontent among the local people following the slew of reforms introduced by the administration, the collector said the islanders have confidence in the administration. “There are around 12,000 households in the island and 9000 government employees. Almost all islanders have got at least one government employee in their family. They are part of the administration and they understand the steps being taken to ensure security.
The administration is transparent and everyone in the island is cooperating with us,” he said.Askar Ali said the progress of the vaccination drive is an example of the pro-people approach of the administration. “We have conducted 1.35 lakh Covid tests during the past five months. Around 1,000 people are vaccinated per day. We have vaccinated more than 80 per cent of the population aged above 18 years,” he said.
Regarding the arrest and remand of Youth Congress workers at Kiltan island for protesting against the collector, Askar Ali said the action was taken for violating Covid protocol. “Everyone has the right to protest peacefully. But around 50 people gathered at Kiltan Island violating the protocol,” he said.