India’s fishing community has offered to stop working at night – a practice that inadvertently provides cover for smugglers and terrorists to infiltrate through the country’s vulnerable 8,000-kilometre-long coastline. The frailty was first exposed in 2008 after a seaborne assault by Pakistani gunmen on Mumbai, and the new move comes in the wake of the deadly terror attack at a café in Bangladesh. Members of the National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF), an apex federation of fishermen’s organisations in the country, are set to submit a memorandum to Indian Coast Guard authorities, asking them to stop all kinds of bottom-trawling in the sea at night. India has shored up security in its coastal areas, particularly around vital installations such as nuclear power stations, ports and defence facilities, following the deadly 26/11 attacks that killed over 160 people. Infrastructure upgrades to boost security in the seas has also received fresh backing. According to NFF national convener Debashis Shyamal, the communication will be submitted this week to the Coast Guard at Haldia in West Bengal, in which they will mention the key security issue: The fish workers’ forum in Bengal (Dakshinbanga Matsyajibi Forum) will submit the memorandum to the Indian Coast Guard asking to stop bottom-trawling or bull-trawling fishing activities in the sea at night. “If that can be imposed successfully there will be no movement of trawlers in the sea at night, he said. Shyamal said the traditional fishermen would also give a proposal that they will not venture out to sea and engage in any trawling activities during the night. If all the fishing trawlers in the sea are afloat but remain in a static position at night it would help security agencies to prevent any infiltration activities or suspicious movement from outside territories. We have already stopped activities from our end too, he added. Ahead of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, an elderly harbour official had noticed the unusual behaviour of the 10 terrorists who had sailed in and questioned their actions, but he did not report the situation and was told by the men to mind his own business. Vigilance Sources in the security agencies said indigenous people provide the best vigilance against foreign intrusion as was also proved in the case of Kargil in 1999 where local shepherds first spotted the Pakistani attackers and reported this to the defence forces. It is definitely a welcome move. If they submit any such memorandum we, as an enforcement agency, will certainly take serious note of that, commandant IJ Singh, spokesperson of Indian Coast Guard, told Mail Today on Wednesday. West Bengal, along with Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam and Mizoram that share an international border with Bangladesh, was put on high alert after the Dhaka terror attack in which 28 people, including six terrorists and two policemen, were killed. India’s coastline presents a variety of security concerns, such as smuggling of arms and explosives, infiltration and other criminal activities. Absence of physical barriers, and the presence of vital industrial and defence installations near the coasts increases their vulnerability to illegal cross-border activities. The administrations of all the districts bordering Bangladesh have been asked to remain on high alert, in particular three districts – East Midnapore, South 24-Parganas and North 24-Parganas – that are connected with the neighbouring country by rivers and the Bay of Bengal. These three districts have over 156 sq km of vast coastline manned by only six coastal police stations which are inept to tackle any emergency. India and Bangladesh share a 4,095-km border, of which 180 km is riverine. Under the first phase of a coastal security scheme, six police stations have come up in Digha Mohana, Talpatighat, Haldibari (Sunderbans), Maipith, Frezerganj and Hemnagar. The process is on for setting up eight more coastal police stations under the second phase at areas such as Junput, Mandarmoni, Nayachar, Gangasagar, Gobardhanpur, Jharkali, Harwood Point and Diamond Harbour. Police sources told Mail Today: These coastal police stations are in very bad shape and not ready to handle any coastal patrolling activity. They don’t have any mechanised patrolling boat to keep night vigils in the sea”. The fishermen of India have for centuries been the sentinels of the coast, preventing intruders by identifying strangers and foreign vessels. Post 26/11, some community interactions were also initiated by the Coast Guard at various landing stations, in a bid to sensitise local fishermen about strengthening national security. Shyamal said that fishermen from Maharashtra, Goa and Tamil Nadu, which share similar transborder coastline with Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively, have also supported the decision and are likely to join the move. If any security issue happens traditional fishermen, who depend on fishing activities in coastal zones, are generally the first ones to suffer due to the drills. So, we have resolved to facilitate the national coastal agencies with the idea of stopping bottom-trawling (or bull-trawling) activities at night, he pointed out. Sources said in order to facilitate and improve the efficiency of vigilance, the fishermen also propose that they should be trained and provided with communication equipment to stay in touch with the naval, coastguard and other security agencies.
Associated Newspapers Limited