Kolkata, Sep 26 (IANS): Maritime security forces along the West Bengal and Odisha coastlines revalidated their Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) during the two-day Ex-Sagar Kavach that concluded on Thursday.

In West Bengal, all agencies involved with coastal security along the 158 km long coastline, participated in the Exercise that was coordinated by the Commander, Coast Guard Region North East, based at Kolkata.

"The State Coastal Security Operation Center (SCSOC) at Headquarters Coast Guard District no - 8, Haldia, was the nerve centre for the Exercise, which witnessed simulated situations such as hijacking of fishing boats for landing of terrorists, smuggling of contraband, hijacking of ship, planting of IEDs and attacks on vital assets and points along the coast of West Bengal. Besides sea and river patrolling by Coast Guard, Navy, CISF, BSF and Customs boats and coastal patrolling by district police, fishermen watch groups at various places were also activated to act as ‘Eyes and Ears’ for the security forces," a senior Coast Guard official said.

During the Exercise, participants were divided into Red and Blue Teams. While the Red Teams were aggressors, the Blue Teams had to track them down and defend coastal assets. Special operations were also conducted during Ex-Sagar Kavach by the CISF and Quick Response Teams (QRTs) of the Coast Guard and Police.

The Exercise also witnessed Sea and Air coordinated surveillance by Coast Guard and Indian Navy ships. All of this was held during inclement. Terrorists and other criminals normally take advantage of such conditions to carry out their activities.

West Bengal has large maritime assets, which include 3.3 lakh fishermen operating over 16,000 fishing boats, two major ports, several river ports and jetties and a large number of coastal industries.

Being a maritime border state with a unique riverine geography, the entire coastline is porous and poses a major challenge for security agencies. This is why coordination is so crucial between all agencies involved in the seaward security of the state. To validate the existing, it has been mandated that all central and state agencies participate in the exercise.

"The lessons learnt during the Exercise will be deliberated at a higher level for further improvements in coastal security mechanism if required, and restructuring of SOPs for the state of West Bengal to strengthen coordination between security agencies of the Centre and the state," the official said.