Gujarat vulnerable to terror attacks, warns official

With a long coastline and proximity to Pakistan, Gujarat is highly vulnerable to terror attacks, especially in the wake of 26/11 Mumbai assault, a top official warned today.

"After the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, the vulnerability of coastline for such acts cannot be over emphasised. Gujarat, having the country's largest coastline of 1,640 km, is the most vulnerable considering its proximity to Pakistan," said Vinod Mall, Joint Director, Gujarat Police Academy. He was speaking on the opening day of the three-day seminar organised by the academy here.

The seminar has been organised to discuss coastal and land border security with a focus on coordinated approach by agencies concerned - Navy, Coast Guard, BSF, police, Customs and others. According to him, the explosives used in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts had landed off Gujarat coast. Similarly the terrorists, who stormed Mumbai, had used Gujarat sea and a Gujarati boat to reach their destination.

“In the past, Gujarat land boarder has also been used frequently to smuggle in arms, counterfeit currency, explosives and drugs," he said. Mall said the key issues to be covered during the meet are: threat assessment of the state's coastline, coordinated approach by the agencies involved, intelligence collection, island security and threat analysis of Sir Creek area in Kutch.