In a bid to help the fishermen in distress at sea, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to distribute numerous Distress Alert Transmitters (DAT) among fishermen as part of its community interaction programme organised here on Sunday. The ICG is the nodal agency nominated by the Central government to undertake and coordinate the maritime SAR in Indian region, besides providing protection to fishermen in distress as part of its mandated duties. As part of its strategy to prevent the incidents, the ICG has initiated an ambitious plan to conduct 100 community interaction programmes among fishermen along the Andhra Pradesh coast and educate them on various aspects of their safety at the sea. The ICG authorities have been conducting these programmes in fishing hamlets during the ongoing fishing ban period. CGDHQ-6 (Coast Guard District Headquarters) operations and plan officer commandant HC Upadhyay said that these community interactions would be used as a platform to educate fishermen about aspects of personal safety, importance of adherence to ban period, operating DATs, maintenance of boats, their role in coastal security mechanism, action required if they are in distress or observe any suspicious activity at sea among others. Pamphlets in Telugu, English and Hindi printed with Do’s and Don’ts’ are being distributed to the fishermen. How the DAT helps A Distress Alert Transmitter (DAT) is a low cost transmitter, that when activated, transmits exact position of fishermen in distress. Prevention is better than cure SEARCH and Rescue (SAR) operation at sea is not an easy task, especially if it is a small boat in distress. It depends on varied parameters ranging from the state of the sea to last known information and time gap in transmission of distress among others. But what could save the precious time and resources is probably prevention of such incidents. Educative programmes 100 Community interaction programmes among fishermen planned by the ICG in teh coastal belts Pamphlets in Telugu, English and Hindi printed with Do’s and Don’ts’ to be distributed to fishermen Training Personal safety Importance and adherence to fishing ban Operating DATs Maintenance of boats Role in coastal security Steps to be followed in emergency
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