Coast Guard station at Vizhinjam in two years

By Our Special Correspondent

KOCHI, JUNE 29. A proposal to establish a Coast Guard station at Vizhinjam is likely to come through in about two years' time, according to the Coast Guard Regional Commander, Mr. P. Paleri, DIG.

Addressing a news conference at the Coast Guard District Headquarters here today, he said the proposal was mooted some years ago at the Chief Ministerial level. The Coast Guard had studied the proposal and found it acceptable since it had already felt the need for an additional station in the State. The proposal was now pending with the Centre and once it was through, the State Government would provide the necessary infrastructure for setting it up. The Coast Guard would not wait for all the infrastructure to be in place before starting its operations there.

Referring to the capture of four Pakistani fishing vessels off the northern part of Lakshadweep, he said the authorities had no reason to suspect that those vessels were engaged in any activity other than fishing. The crew of the vessels had been "thoroughly" interrogated by all the agencies concerned before they arrived at this conclusion. The Pakistanis did not have a long coastline and due to various restrictions, they sometimes tended to operate in distant waters, he pointed out.

The Coast Guard was also proposing to establish a hovercraft base somewhere along the West Coast. It would be the first station of its kind. It was also planning to build an airstrip.

The Coast Guard had been increasingly involving the Lakshadweep Administration in dealing with cases of poaching, mainly by Sri Lankan boats in the island region. It had also been trying to take part in welfare activities and help the islanders feel more secure.

The DIG, who heads the Coast Guard set up in the West Coast, felt that poaching activity was generally on the decline. Poaching on a scale that was witnessed in the 1970s and '80s was hardly in evidence now, though a "lot of fishing" was taking place outside the country's EEZ.

The Coast Guard had been effective in curbing the activities of large factory vessels, for instance. Transshipment vessels which passed through the region informed it about their passage these days. The ambit of its operations had widened, he said referring to the recent capture of a pirated ship and nabbing of stowaways.

Mr. Paleri felt that there were no "problems" or inordinate delays in disposing of cases of foreign fishermen nabbed for trespassing in Indian waters. The repatriation of Sri Lankan fishermen had been stopped because the Coast Guard did not favour it, though it had been advocated from the point of view of foreign policy.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Unaided schools have no right to demand Plus Two:
           Govt.
Next     : Edinburgh Royal College clears conduct of more
           exams