The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Security blanket over public sector units

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Thursday, Jul 31, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Security blanket over public sector units

Central paramilitary units gear up to face the challenge; screening of visitors to establishments

Photo: H. Vibhu

FULL COVER: Installations such as the oil terminal are under heavy protection. —

KOCHI: The Indian Coast Guard combined with the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) for a security drill in the backwaters off Kochi on Tuesday to test and raise the preparedness levels of two key lines of defence against any attack on strategic installations.

The aim of Tuesday’s exercise in which aircraft and high-speed patrol vessels participated was to test the security measures in place for the outer anchorage area and the single point mooring facility of Bharat Petroleum Corporation-Kochi Refinery.

The drill brings to the fore the number of strategic installations in and around Kochi. The ever expanding activities of the Port brings added responsibilities to agencies that are now equipped to meet any threat.

The Coast Guard is equipped with two large vessels, a high-speed patrol boat, two small aircraft and a Chetak helicopter.

The Coast Guard in Kochi is also set to get its own airstrip soon.

Kochi Port, which adopted the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code in 2004 has raised its security level to two in view of the bomb threats in Kochi, said a senior official of the Port Trust. The Port and related installations are spread over nearly 2,000 acres of land on Willingdon Island, Puthuvype and neighbouring Vallarpadam Islands.

The task of keeping an eye on all that goes on in the Port premises, especially at the 16 berths and three oil jetties, is an onerous task that is being carried out with great diligence by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

While cameras and CCTV monitoring of strategic locations look after one aspect, strict security checks at entry and exit points are taking care of another aspect of heightened security requirements.

BPCL-Kochi Refinery relies on its own security department for internal security and the demands of the present threat perceptions have been met, said an official here.

Security at FACT

The security department at the Refinery is working in tandem with the local police, said the official as he pointed to more tightened security checks at the Refinery premises and installations.

Sniffer dogs and cameras at key installations are also defences being employed by the Refinery security department. Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore (FACT) has also tightened the security on its two campuses and around its production installations.

The Central Industrial Security Force which usually operated in three shifts has pressed into duty the entire batch of nearly 500 personnel to meet any situation.

An official of the public sector fertiliser company said that security at Government undertakings had been heightened after the attack on the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore in December 2005.

Checking of vehicles and persons entering the FACT premises has been made much wider and stricter in view of the present situation, it is learnt.

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