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Coast Guard short of men and material, says Fernandes

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI OCT. 14. Admitting that the Coast Guard was short of men and material and the Government had done little to correct the situation, the Defence Minister, George Fernandes, warned that if this state of affairs continued, the country would not be able to meet the challenges to internal security posed by the increasing use of sea lanes for terrorist movement, gun running and narcotics smuggling.

Addressing a close-door meeting of Coast Guard commanders, Mr. Fernandes regretted that these issues were unresolved despite the Government promising every year to increase staff strength and provide better vessels. "Not much progress has been made and this has to be acknowledged by me. I am sorry because I believe that if these issues are not speedily resolved, the charter which binds the Coast Guard will never be fulfilled.'' He also pointed out that despite the large financial allocation made by the Government to provide more and better accommodation to armed forces personnel and their families, "much of the money is yet to be utilised''.

At the same time, he complimented the officers and men for performing well despite the handicaps. "It is has been a good year for the Coast Guard so far as its performance is concerned.''

But Mr. Fernandes was critical of some Coast Guard men approaching the courts for resolving service related issues. "Having a (armed) force of the union going to the court of law to have their problems resolved is not in national interest,'' he said, adding that "every time I have given an assurance that these issues are on our agenda. But at the end of the day, we have not been able to perform much on this front.''

Speaking later to reporters, the Minister said negotiations for buying the Russian aircraft carrier `Admiral Gorshkov' were in the final stages but another major naval deal - purchase of French submarines - was "yet to be finalised''.

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