Taking a serious note of security measures on coast, the Indian Coast Guard held a special community interaction programme on Wednesday with the owners of fishing boats and members of fishing associations of Mumbai to become an eye and ear for them. The interaction was held at Coast Guard District, Headquarters (Maharashtra), Worli. A special lecture and demonstration was organized to train fishermen for survival at sea in case of cyclones, storms and bad weather conditions. The fishing Community was also sensitized on the need to report suspicious activity in creeks around Mumbai, Thane and Vashi, being hub of lighterage operation and have many minor and private ports. “The aim of the programme was to sensitise fishing community on coastal security and prompt search and rescue assistance to fishermen in need at sea. Special emphasis was given on how to share information with Coast Guard on toll-free Telephone no.1554 which is manned 24×7 for SAR assistance and coastal security at Worli Mumbai,” said the ICG spokesperson. The Coast Guard also appreciated sighting and prompt reporting of lone vessel namely “Ocean Ferrari” by members of fishing community near Dahanu on 11 Jul 16. Coast Guard Commander (Maharashtra) encouraged fishermen for prompt reporting and reaffirmed faith in fishing community in acting as eyes and ears of security establishment. Also fishermen were advised to complete colour coding of boats prior onset of fishing season in August and carry life jackets or lifebuoys for safety whenever proceeding to sea.
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