Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil and Leader of Opposition Eknath Khadse on Tuesday conducted a three-hour review of coastal security,sailing 10 nautical miles out of Mumbai. The trip had been promised in the Assembly after questions were raised about coastal security. The review started with the Coast Guard,the nodal authority for coastal security,giving a mid-sea briefing on its various demands for better infrastructure. Topping the list was the three-year-old demand for berthing facilities for Coast Guard vessels in the state. At present,the vessels berth at the Naval Dockyard. But with the Indian Navys Western Command expanding,the Coast Guard has been asked to look for an alternative space soon. While five acres has been urgently sought around Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust for bigger vessels,another five acres is required for smaller vessels at Elephanta Island. There have been talks with JNPT and BPT for land. There have been two meetings so far and we will try to resolve the issue at the earliest, said Patil. The Coast Guard,which is in the process of procuring new hovercrafts,also brought to Patils attention the need for hoverports and requested the use of the underutilised CIDCO facitilies. The Coast Guard Air Station,a top priority project,is also stuck for want of land. The Coast Guard has been given 150 acres in Ratnagiri,with 100 acres made into an airstrip and another 50 acres a hangar facility. We need seven acres to connect these two plots,which are of not much use otherwise. We have sought an additional 100 acres to expand the airstrip and build a better air station, stressed an official. The team was also shown boarding,interception,search and rescue operations. They were also taken to the MSC Chitra collision site where the crew re-enacted the entire salvage operation with two Donears spraying dispersants. Officials said Khadse kept taking notes on every detail provided and had questions to ask on every security aspect. The trip had to be cut short by two hours due to bad sea conditions. Meanwhile,the government has promised to look into the need for installing transponders on fishing boats to aid identificaiton and survey. (with inputs from Swatee Kher)
