Coast Guard begins community interaction programme in Gujarat

Aiming to create awareness among people on measures to be taken to strengthen coastal security, the Indian Coast Guard launched a community interaction prorgamme here today.

"The programme called 'If You See Something, Say Something' aims to create awareness in the local population to report any unusual activity along the coastline," DIG Indian Coast Guard S S Dasila said.

"The objective of this campaign is to make people alert the coast guard on spotting suspicious movement in the sea so that prompt action can be taken," he said.

"Gujarat has the longest coastline of 1,600 kilometre, and with active people's participation, surveillance can be strengthened," he said.
 

The Coast Guard also demonstrated a series of steps to be taken to save those drowning in sea.

Operating with a force of 600 personnel, the Coast Guard recently acquired three new hovercraft to intensify close-to-coast patrolling in Gujarat. After this acquisition, the Coast Guard now has a fleet of five hovercraft.

It also displayed a Distress Alert Transmitter (DAT), fitted in around 700 fishing trawlers, which helps save a boat in times of mid-sea emergencies.

"The DAT sends a distress signal to the marine resource centre which spots the boat's location and informs us, so that the Coast Guard can launch a rescue operation," he said.