New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) A new regional headquarter of the Coast Guard has been set up in Gandhinagar in Gujarat, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said Wednesday.
This is in addition to the seven Coast Guard stations in the state and another that is coming up at Hazira, the minister said in a statement to the Rajya Sabha.
Antony said that on June 19 and 26, 38 people, including 32 Somalis, were caught by police off the Gujarat coast for intruding into Indian waters.
He said coastal surveillance and patrolling had been intensified in the area.
"Joint and operational exercises are taking place on regular basis among the navy, Coast Guard, Coastal State Police, Customs and others under the integrated appraoch adopted for coastal security.
"Further, 10 coastal police stations have been made operational," he added.