Sea terror warning was ignored

For last four years Centre has been silent on Gujarat fishermen's terror updates

It seems that the Mumbai carnage was not enough for the Centre to seal the sea terror routes. The Central government for the last four years has been ignoring warnings sent to it by fishermen living along the Gujarat coastline about possible sea infiltration by Pak-based terrorists.

The fishermen from Jakhau to Okha on the Gujarat coast said that they have from time-to-time informed the Central government about Pakistani fishermen and soldiers of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) entering Indian waters. But they were ignored. The Mumbai attack perpretators had arrived on an Indian fishing boat.

"We had informed both the state and Central governments about the issue," said Velji Masani, president of the All-Gujarat Fishermen Association. "In fact our delegation met senior leaders in the government and various political parties to inform them about the perilous situation. But they took it lightly."

He added that the terrorists have been using seized Indian boats to infiltrate into our waters. "Out boats are completely different in shape and size from the Pakistani ones. If terrorists use any of the seized Indian boats to bypass the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard, they can bluff them easily," said Masani.

MiD DAY had carried a story on December 4, 2008 that more than 1,500 Indian boats are lying with PMSA that can be used to infiltrate into Indian territory.

The Gujarat government, after receiving the inputs from the fishermen, had signed a deal with the Indian Space Research Organisation to install Global Positioning Chips on all Indian boats to avoid any hijack. "The process is going on and such measures will only assure our security," said Masani.

Meanwhile, senior officers from the Gujarat police said that fishermen have been providing them valuable inputs regarding any intrusion from the Pakistan side. "There is a proposal to rope in fishermen to develop intelligence along the coastline. We are in regular touch with the fishermen to monitor activities in the Indian Ocean," said a joint commissioner rank officer, on the condition of anonymity.

Talking about the Centre's negligence on the issue, he said, "The Gujarat government had updated the Centre on all such possible activities by the Pakistanis."