Navy has much better maritime awareness: Sinha

Indian Navy has implemented a slew of measures, including grooming of fishermen, to safeguard the sea post the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, chief of Western Naval command, said today.
The Navy has set up four joint operation centres, one each in the four naval commands.
"Joint Operation Centres get inputs from all sensors established by various agencies like the Port Trust, Police, Intelligence, Shipping etc," Sinha told reporters.
The officer said the Navy has a much better maritime awareness.
"..We are aware about how many people are at sea and how many are friends and how many are not," Sinha said.

Informing about various measures undertaken by the Navy post 26/11 attacks in which the fidayeen terrorists from across the border came to Mumbai via sea route, Sinha said that DRDO-made small transponders are being fitted on smaller boats as well, even though law entails fitting them on ships weighing over 300 tonne.

"Our intention is to put transponders in all small boats with the help of state governments," Sinha said.
He informed that Navy has launched "indoctrination" programmes for fishermen who will work as eyes and ears for the security agencies.
"There are a number of interactive sessions (being held) with fisherman, under which the Navy and the Coast Guard also participate," Sinha said.

Sinha said they go to small villages and identify landing points which are vulnerable.
He said, "till September 1, 2013, 1.11 lakh biometric identification cards were issued to fishermen in Maharashtra. We hope by 2014, entire country will be connected by radars and 44 radars have been installed so far".
On intelligence inputs, he said the Navy had received 24 intelligence inputs and all of them were responded immediately. "The result is that we have full coordination," he said.