The Surat superintendent of police held a meeting with the sarpanchs and fishermen of coastal villages on Thursday and sensitised them to the importance of exchanging information in case of terrorists entering through the sea and taking shelter in the villages.

Surat Rural Superintendent of Police K G Bhati met the sarpanch, deputy sarpanch and fishermen of 17 villages situated on the Olpad coast, in the community hall near Olpad police station in the morning. Bhati explained to the gathering that without their help nothing can be done. They can play an important role in exchanging information of strangers coming to their villages.

The Gujarat Police have started this exercise taking lessons from the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai as well as intelligence reports that terrorists might enter India through the sea route and take shelter in the coastal villages.

“We have explained to the sarpanch and fishermen that their role is also important in battling terrorism. Their identity will be kept secret if they pass on any information. The sarpanch is the village head and he can pass on information to the villagers by organising meetings with them,” Bhati said, adding that the role of fishermen is very important, as they pass most of their time in the sea. If they find any suspicious boat or ship, they can alert the police, he said.

The meeting was held on the instruction of Range IG Shivanand Jha, who said that the police will be carrying out similar exercises in Valsad and Navsari districts in south Gujarat, as both these districts share a vast coastal area between them with many villages. South Gujarat has a coastal area of 140 km.

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