Security along the Tamilnadu coast had been tightened and patrolling stepped up to prevent possible infiltration from across the border, even as the country readies itself for the anniversary of 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Twelve coastal police stations had been put on high alert and equal number of search boats were already patrolling the coastal areas and another dozen will join the fleet soon, said a senior police officer.

Coastal security came under scrutiny in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai as it was through the porous sea front that the marauding Muslim terrorists arrived and struck terror.

To bolster the coastal patrolling, the government has imported a hi-tech surveillance boat from Greece at a cost of Rs 2.1 crore, the officer said.

The security of vital installations along the coast such as Kalpakkam and Koodankulam nuclear power plants from the sea point of view is also looked into, he said and added that discussions were already held on the security parameters.

‘We are working on a system where the reaction time taken by Marine Police to reach any point on the coast would be just a few minutes’, he said.

Sources said the State has requested for 30 more Marine Police Stations for effective patrolling and surveillance. Of the 24 patrol boats of 12-tonne and 5-tonne capacity, six has been received so far.

The force is also in need of All Terrain Vehicle. Atleast 100 such vehicles that would be capable of moving at a speed of 60 kmph on wet or dry sand. It would have high ground clearance, Global Positioning System and other communication equipment, he said.

It may be recalled that in July, 2009, Coast Guard conducted a joint exercise ‘Barricade’ along Tamilnadu Coast along with Navy and other Central and State agencies with a great success.

For the first time 13 agencies acted together; even the local fisherman were involved along with the District administration. Eleven joint exercises have been conducted along all the coastal states.

Dial 1093 for coastal security

Launching a 24x7 toll-free telephone number,1093, for coastal security, DGP KP Jain today said the service would enable the public to call the number and convey any information that requires security intervention.  

Stating that the village vigilance committees formed some months ago have been giving actionable inputs, the DGP said, ‘in the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks, our focus is to set up commando units in each district and also upgrade their training’.