As the city prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the November 26 terror attacks, the armed forces personnel, especially those working for the Coast Guard, claim they have learnt from the mistakes that led to the attacks. A decade since 10 terrorists from Pakistan created havoc across the city, the Coast Guard personnel claim they are fully equipped to handle and tackle all such incidents today, and can ensure coastal security is a matter of national importance. They said that the need of the hour is to keep upgrading and updating with necessary and available resources, so as to combat intense situations. Inspector General VD Chaphekar of the Indian Coast Guard told DNA, “It goes without saying that the western coast is of utmost importance as far as economic and ecological factors are concerned, especially so when it comes to the Mumbai coast.” Following 26/11, the Coast Guard felt it was important to plug all loopholes, to ensure miscreants can’t exploit these in the future. “We worked all these years to make an action plan into reality. The western coastline is 1,836 kms long, with five major ports and 92 minor ones. It has 453 islands, big and small. When it comes to patrolling and vigilance, about 16-20 ships per day are being deployed to keep an eye on suspicious activities to ensure operations run smoothly,” he said. Coastal guards have also taken a serious note of increasing self-reliance, and to reduce dependence on other agencies. “Since 26/11, we have executed a Phase-I including 18 radar stations for surveillance on the western coast. Phase-II is being planned for deployment in the Arabian Sea. For better transmission of air assets, the coastal guards are also planning to deploy Ratnagiri air station apart from existing Daman and Mumbai air stations,” a coastal guards spokesperson said. “Based on intelligence units, all forces work to prevent infiltration of naval vessels, ships, submarines, yachts or boats. We can say that there is absolutely no shortage of funds when it comes to coastal security, and neither we can compromise with it. Apart from terrorism, some of the existing challenges of the sea include piracy, smuggling, theft and pollution, and the quick response team (QRT) from Mumbai is doing a better job to prevent such issues. We are confident of handling situations when it comes to our doorsteps, and we have positively evolved ourselves over all these years,” the spokesperson said. COASTING ALONG

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