Coast Guard to get fifth regional headquarters

CHENNAI: A regional headquarter in the north-east for Orissa and West Bengal will be activated by the end of this year, according to Commander Coast Guard Eastern Region Inspector General, S P Sharma. This will be the fifth regional headquarters besides the existing ones at Gandhinagar, Mumbai (West), Chennai and Port Blair (East) and the national headquarters in New Delhi.Speaking to reporters after the decommissioning of two Coast Guard ships, Commander Sharma said the Coast Guard had embarked on a major capacity building programme under which the Eastern region was in the process of activating four new stations and two new air stations besides inducting 20 ships and 10 aircraft in the next few years, giving a fillip to national security by securing ports, economic hubs and nuclear installations in the coastal areas.He said there was also a proposal to have 47 static radar stations. “This will boost the security of the region and through the radars information about intrusions in the coast will be passed on to ships,” said Commander Sharma, who is recovering from a leg injury.Retirement at 27Earlier, the Coast Guard bid farewell to ICGS Jijabai and ICGS Kittur Chennamma. As the sun set, 27 years of service came to an end with the lowering of the “Paying off Penant.” Interestingly both vessels were part of the Inshore patrol vessel specifically designed and built by the Japanese Shipyard Sumidgawa Shipyard in Tokyo.ICGS Jijabai was commissioned on February 22, 1984 at Port Blair and had the honour of serving two Coast Guard regions and three base ports since commissioning. The ship has saved 51 lives and apprehended 12 foreign fishing vessels for poaching in Indian territory. The ship has also repatriated 38 vessels and also played a key role in Operation Tasha in the Palk Bay between 2006-2011. ICGS Kittur Chennamma, the first vessel of its class to be commissioned in October 1983 has saved 36 lives and seized huge quantities of gold. It was awarded “Best Maintained Coast Guard Unit” for the year 2010.