CHENNAI: There are 32 marine Police stations across TN coast under the control of Coastal Security Group (CSG) which comprises 1400 personnel, 24 patrolling boats and 24 all-terrain-vehicles. According to a CSG official, “Daily nearly 20 CSG boats patrol the coast. But we have never come across cases where fishing boats ferry tourists illegally, but we have to concentrate on coastal violations and should ensure strict punishment for those who agree to carry tourists”. The official added, “Manapad Sea opens up to the Indian Ocean and the changing pattern of waves is very fast here. Our investigation reveals that the boat could have turned to the left due to sudden change in the wave pattern and the wave may have hit the side panel of the boat, toppling it”. 20 people had illegally gone to sightseeing trip in a fishing boat in the sea off Manapad, a coastal village 18 KM south of Tiruchendur. 9 people died in the in the incident that took place in Thoothukudi district on Sunday. These kind of gross violations on the coast of Tamil Nadu go unnoticed as it is very difficult to monitor all fishing hamlets on the vast coastline, he said. CSG wants up gradation work to be implemented at the earliest. There is a need for 175 all-terrain vehicles, 20 faster boats to quickly reach out to affected areas. So far 42 marine police stations have been sanctioned and 32 have come up. There is also need for more manpower to patrol the 1076 km-long Tamil Nadu coastline. The CSG commandos are trained in deep-sea diving and rescue operations. Another CSG official said, “The fisheries department and local police should also look for such violations. We mostly work in the sea and we have the power to intervene if we come across any illegal ferries on the sea. But it is in the hand of local Police could stop such activities on the shore itself”. ]]>
