Go on, burn Rs 5L fuel, govt tells coastal cops
The union home ministry does not want the coastal security police (CSP) hugging the harbour for too long, or playing truant. With intelligence reports about the possibility of terrorists slipping in through the sea route, it wants their patrolling speedboats be vigilant and has ordered them to be in deep seas by making sure that they use up at least Rs 5 lakh worth of petrol/diesel every month.
In a letter to all CSP stations, union home minister P Chidambaram also sanctioned the required funds for effective patrolling which will be borne by the Centre and directly credited to the oil companies.
Karnataka, whose coastal zone extends over 300 km between Goa and Kerala, currently has five CSP stations at Mangalore, Malpe (Udupi), Bhatkal, Kumta and Karwar. Each police station has been provided with an officer at the inspectors level and 30 other police personnel along with the necessary weapons for patrolling, including three speedboats.
While the CSP looks after close to 10 nautical miles (18 km) from the seashore, the Coast Guard and Indian Navy patrol beyond this area. Home ministry sources said there were complaints about patrolling along the coast with only a few police stations utilising their full quota of fuel. As the services were flagged off in the nations interest, nothing stops these boats from using their quota, said a senior official attached to the home ministry.
Smart cards
Sourcing fuel is not easy for all coastal police stations since some are far from fuel stations. We either need to send transport for the fuel or wait for personnel of the fuel station to come to the base stations with tanks loaded onto a boat. As a result, supply is hampered, said a police official from a coastal station.
The home ministry has addressed this problem with smart or fleet cards which can be used like petro-cards. Personnel can swipe it 24X7 at any of the fuel stations to fill up.
A senior police official attached to the internal security wing told Bangalore Mirror that Karnataka stations were expected to get such cards within a few days. We hope this will clear all hurdles in getting regular fuel for our boats, said a CSP inspector.
GPRS watch
The question is, how will the boats burn Rs 5 lakh worth of fuel every month? There were reports that a few stations burned fuel in the idle position itself. To prevent this, all boats will be brought under the GPRS network and monitored through a centralised system, said an official with internal security.
Each ship will have a local fisherman who can identify boats in the area and help in navigation. These boats can seize any suspicious vessel close to the seashore and conduct sudden raids. Each boat will have 16 police personnel apart from four crew members.
All the boats have been equipped with Light Machine Guns (LMGs), AK-47s, Self Load Rifles (SLR), bullet-proof jackets, infrared-enabled binoculars capable of night vision, life-saving jackets and SONAR equipment to measure the depth of the sea and underwater objects.
Go on burn Rs 5L fuel govt tells coastal cops - Bangalore Mirror,Bangalore Mirror
The union home ministry does not want the coastal security police (CSP) hugging the harbour for too long, or playing truant. With intelligence reports about the possibility of terrorists slipping in through the sea route, it wants their patrolling speedboats be vigilant and has ordered them to be in deep seas by making sure that they use up at least Rs 5 lakh worth of petrol/diesel every month.
In a letter to all CSP stations, union home minister P Chidambaram also sanctioned the required funds for effective patrolling which will be borne by the Centre and directly credited to the oil companies.
Karnataka, whose coastal zone extends over 300 km between Goa and Kerala, currently has five CSP stations at Mangalore, Malpe (Udupi), Bhatkal, Kumta and Karwar. Each police station has been provided with an officer at the inspectors level and 30 other police personnel along with the necessary weapons for patrolling, including three speedboats.
While the CSP looks after close to 10 nautical miles (18 km) from the seashore, the Coast Guard and Indian Navy patrol beyond this area. Home ministry sources said there were complaints about patrolling along the coast with only a few police stations utilising their full quota of fuel. As the services were flagged off in the nations interest, nothing stops these boats from using their quota, said a senior official attached to the home ministry.
Smart cards
Sourcing fuel is not easy for all coastal police stations since some are far from fuel stations. We either need to send transport for the fuel or wait for personnel of the fuel station to come to the base stations with tanks loaded onto a boat. As a result, supply is hampered, said a police official from a coastal station.
The home ministry has addressed this problem with smart or fleet cards which can be used like petro-cards. Personnel can swipe it 24X7 at any of the fuel stations to fill up.
A senior police official attached to the internal security wing told Bangalore Mirror that Karnataka stations were expected to get such cards within a few days. We hope this will clear all hurdles in getting regular fuel for our boats, said a CSP inspector.
GPRS watch
The question is, how will the boats burn Rs 5 lakh worth of fuel every month? There were reports that a few stations burned fuel in the idle position itself. To prevent this, all boats will be brought under the GPRS network and monitored through a centralised system, said an official with internal security.
Each ship will have a local fisherman who can identify boats in the area and help in navigation. These boats can seize any suspicious vessel close to the seashore and conduct sudden raids. Each boat will have 16 police personnel apart from four crew members.
All the boats have been equipped with Light Machine Guns (LMGs), AK-47s, Self Load Rifles (SLR), bullet-proof jackets, infrared-enabled binoculars capable of night vision, life-saving jackets and SONAR equipment to measure the depth of the sea and underwater objects.
Go on burn Rs 5L fuel govt tells coastal cops - Bangalore Mirror,Bangalore Mirror
