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Situation calm but for refugee influx, say Coast Guard

Rajesh Nair

Interceptor class boat likely to be stationed at Pondy soon

— Photo:T. Singaravelou

MAINTENANCE: The Coast Guard interceptor boat docked at the Pondicherry Harbour for repairs on Tuesday.

PONDICHERRY : The situation is calm on the Indian side of the Palk Straits even after the escalation of ethnic tensions in Sri Lanka, according to the Coast Guard.

"Apart from the problem arising out of the influx of refugees to Tamil Nadu, the situation is calm on our side of the International Maritime Boundary Line," an official attached to the 138 Interceptor Class Boat, based at Mandapam, told The Hindu on Tuesday.

The boat has docked at Pondicherry for repairs after two days of patrolling the coastline between Mandapam and Chennai.

It will resume operations in a couple of days, he said.

The Coast Guard has intensified patrolling with armed hovercraft and boats. Asked about incidents of firing by the Sri Lankan Navy on Indian fishermen, the official said such incidents happen when the fishermen stray into Lankan waters and ignore the Navy's call to stop and identify themselves.

On the refugee inflow, he said that of late Sri Lankan fishermen dropped the refugees at Land's End in Dhanishkodi.

Earlier, it was on a sandy spot called the Fifth Island. The Coast Guard and Indian Navy picked them up and handed them over to the civil authorities for screening and transportation to refugee camps.

Those arriving at Fifth Island had had a difficult time since it was uninhabited and no food or water was available.

"By the time we spot them, they are in bad shape," he said.

Officials said a second interceptor boat based at Mandapam would move permanently to Pondicherry, most likely by the middle of next month.

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