With the setting up of the Indian Coast Guard Station district headquarters, the security for the coastal Puducherry region will get a major boost, said Coast Guard Commandant N Somasundaram here on Thursday.
The headquarters No 13 (Union Territory of Puducherry) will be opened in Lawspet near the airport on May 15, he said.
The government of India had given its nod in this regard. The Director General of Indian Coast Guard, Vice Admiral Anurag G Thapliyal will attend the function, he added.
Commandant Somasundaram said, “It’s the first step towards many major things to come and security of the coast from Marakkanam to Cuddlaore will receive a major fillip after the establishment of the headquarters here.”
He said many of the current infrastructure facilities will be upgraded and the place allotted inside Puducherry airport will be utilised as operational base for the aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard.
Initially Dornier aircraft and Chetak helicopters will be stationed here. The existing manpower of 30 will be gradually increased to over 100 in the near future, he confirmed.
Commandant Somasundaram said another issue to be looked into would be the safety of fishermen in regions under the district head quarters, which will also be the priority of the Coast Guards stationed here. He said the Coast Guard has been conducting community interaction programmes with the fishermen to create awareness among them about their activities and how to ensure protection for the community. We seek their maximum co-operation in this effort, he said.
The Commandant said that fishermen have been given training to use modern gadgets, like GPS in case of emergencies, which would facilitate rescue operation. He urged the fishermen to contact them in case of distress, like a mechanical fault to their vessel or medical emergencies, while fishing in sea.