Mangalore fishermen discover 19 unregistered boats

The registration certificates of 19 fishing boats have been fudged and no action has been taken against the boatmen, complained the fishermen in Mangalore. This came to light two days ago when fishermen saw two fishing boats approach the inner bay parking at the old fishing port in the city.

Suspicious of the boats, they decided to investigate, and were shocked to find that the boats belonged to Tamil Nadu. For want of parking space, the boat owners have fudged the registration certificates.

“These boats had Tamil Nadu registration and were not allowed berth facility in the inner bay area. But when we enquired, they showed us the Karnataka registration certificate. We found that the engine number had been recently stamped on the engine block after erasing the old number. The engine number and the chassis number did not match. Further enquiry revealed that the number plate had Tamil Nadu registration under the newly painted number plate,” said Naveen Bengre, a fisherman.

The fishermen discovered 19 such boats with fake registration certificates. The port officials too have been lax in checking the documents.

“This act could endanger the security of the country, as boats with fake registration could lead to security problems. What if the boats with fake documents were used by terror elements across the border to infiltrate into India?” Bengre said.

The fishermen have since then swung into action and reported the matter to deputy commissioner, who has begun investigation.
He has sought explanation from the coastal police, port department, and the fisheries department. The port officials said the investigation was on, but said they cannot divulge the details.
In the meantime, fishermen associations have called for an emergency meeting at the Old Port of Mangalore on Monday, where they will seek an inquiry into the incident.

It could be recalled that the PMO had warned the Navy Coast Guard, Coastal Security Police and the police in the maritime states to be alert about terrorist elements across the border trying to infiltrate into the country.  This warning had come a year after the Mumbai attacks, following which the coastal security police force had been put in place as part of the three-tier coastal security.