 Online edition of India's National Newspaper Thursday, Feb 26, 2009 ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version |
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Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI/MADURAI: A few boats that were found abandoned along the coast of Tamil Nadu in the recent weeks have caused concern among security agencies. While no breakthrough has been achieved yet in the case of three speedboats, investigations have revealed that about 13 refugees and a smuggler came by two boats that were abandoned along the shores of Rameswaram. The possibility of infiltration of “undesirable” elements is yet to be ruled out, according to a source in the intelligence agencies. The heightened war situation in Sri Lanka and the recent aerial attack on Colombo by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have added to security concerns. The presence of a large number of registered/unregistered refugees and upsurge in sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils were seen as one of the threats during the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Chennai recently. That the LTTE is in possession of high-speed boats which are capable of reaching the Indian waters within minutes and the suspicion that refugee camps in the State are harbouring its sympathisers are some of the persistent threats. “The need to strengthen coastal security has gained momentum after the Mumbai terror attack. Security agencies are working in close coordination with the Coast Guard and the Navy. Efforts are on to locate unregistered refugees through the Commissioner of Rehabilitation,” a senior police officer said. In a related development, officials of the nuclear power plant at Kalpakkam have sought protection on the ‘sea side’ in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks. Formal requests have been made to the State and Central governments to step up patrolling through a marine police station on the coastal waters of Kalpakkam as part of strengthening security and surveillance, according to K. Ramamurthy, Station Director, Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS), Kalpakkam. He told The Hindu in Madurai on Tuesday that protection on the sea front was essential to prevent any untoward incident at the nuclear establishment. “We do not want any sort of incident like the Mumbai attack…to happen here as terrorists came through sea for carrying out attacks in Mumbai,” Mr. Ramamurthy said. According to him, adequate high security measures have been put in place at MAPS after the November 26 attack. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and the State police are jointly taking care of security at the power plant. “Right now, we are well equipped on the ground security. What is needed is beefing up of coastal security,” he said. A series of counter-terrorism measures like putting into place a no-flying zone, electronic scanning, photo verification had been initiated to enhance the security at Kalpakkam nuclear power plant, he added. Director General of Police (Civil Defence) Jagan M. Seshadri, who is also heading the Coastal Security Group, said a senior official in-charge of security in the Nuclear Power Corporation of India had met him last year to devise strategies for coastal security for MAPS.
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