Mangalore: Coastal Patrolling Vessel Faces Acute Shortage of Resources
Pics by Dayananda Kukkaje

MANGALORE, Dec 14: A team of journalists from the city joined the Coastal Security Police and the Customs Department personnel a patrolling exercise, off the Bunder fishing docks on Friday evening only to learn that there is an acute shortage of resources vis-a-vis the enormity of the task at hand.

Amidst the roar of the 540-horsepower twin-engine 27-ft Customs Preventive Craft (CPC), “Mangala”, which is being used for patrolling, Superintendent of Customs Ashok Kumar said: “This is a highly sophisticated inflatable speedboat that can reach speeds of over 50 knots (100 km an hour).”

The vessel, which is owned by the Customs Department, is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation system, “Navaman”. It comprises a radar capable of tracking even sunken vessels along a radius of three knots. It has an in-built global positioning system and a digital magnetic compass.

But according to its crew, the CPC Mangala is way out of league given its brief. It is expected to scan 350 sq km of shallow waters between the 70-km stretch that separates Malpe (Udupi district) from Ullal (Dakshina Kannada). While the crew said that its radar’s reach was “formidable”, they conceded that it was impossible to effectively patrol the area under the boat’s command.

To make matters worse, the boat is taken out for patrolling only once a week. Asked how the current system could prevent nefarious activities or the incursions through the coast, Mr. Kumar said: “We take orders from our higher-ups. They decide the schedules and provide the equipment.” He, however, said that a new, much larger, craft was expected to bolster the patrolling in January.

On Friday, the crew intercepted a fishing vessel, navigating around five nautical miles (nearly 10 km) from the shore. The captain of the fishing vessel did not even know the name of the boat’s owner. The crew of the fishing vessel appeared clueless about the bio-metric smart identity cards, which will be a mandatory document for them from January next.

One of the fishermen wanted to know what was that card all about and how to apply for it. There are an estimated 15,000 sea-faring fishermen in the district and by the admission of the Coastal Security Police Inspector Mukunda Nayak, who was part of the Friday’s exercise, the process of registration has hardly begun.

One guard aboard the patrolling vessel said: “Given the kind of resources we have, only luck will help us identify fishermen who do not have the identity cards. Forget catching terrorists and smugglers.”