Congress leader Ahmed Patel writes to Home Minister over coastal security

Ahmed Patel, Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat has written a strongly worded letter to Home Minister Rajnath Singh raising concerns over poor coastal security in the state.

I have information that majority of coastal check posts and police stations in Gujarat are not functional and those that are, lack trained officers. There is also a shortage of police stations in sensitive areas.

For example, Kutch which borders Pakistan has only one police station for its 238 km coastline. Similarly there is no police station between Shri Dwarkadeesh temple and Harsiddhi temple in Devbhumi Dwarka district given that lakhs of devotees visit every year.

He further adds, “Security up to 12 nautical miles comes under the state government. The Centre has provided it with 30 interceptor boats which have to patrol 1,800 km every month, however, many boats don’t even complete 25%. The Centre had also provided funds to Gujarat in 2005-06 to amp up coastal security infrastructure but nothing has been done yet,” in the letter, Ahmed Patel writes.

The Comptroller and Auditor General also raised concerns over the state’s coastal security, as some ports are run byprivate security agencies, he writes adding,”There is lack of physical infrastructure the Rann of Kutch.

These areas are infested with poisonous reptiles and often bite our jawans but a lack of proper roads compromise their safety. These issues have been raised with the state government on several occasions but there has been no improvement.

http://www.vishwagujarat.com/gujarat/congress-leader-ahmed-patel-writes-to-home-minister-over-coastal-security/