Defence minister to inaugurate it at a later date.
The formal inauguration of the new regional centre of Coast Guard, to be known as North-West centre, in Gandhinagar, which was scheduled for last weekend, has been postponed pending a new date convenient to the defence minister, AK Antony. The centre will handle matters pertaining to the Coast Guard's operations in Gujarat, including Diu and Daman.
This would be fourth regional centre of the Coast Guard in the country, with the other three being in the west and the east for the west and east coasts respectively and one for Andaman and Nicobar islands. Hitherto, the Coast Guard stations at Porbandar, Okha and Jakhau in Gujarat were part of the Mumbai-based Western region centre, which covered all the maritime states in the south.
The decision of having one regional centre of the Coast Guard exclusively for maritime security of the Gujarat coast was taken following the 26/11 terrorist attack in Mumbai. It is now known that the terrorists had come to Mumbai from Karachi via Kutch waters, using a boat from Porbandar.
Sources in a security agency said that the regional centre has become functional. It has got an IG-level official as its head and other officials, and is housed in a building of the state's industry department in Gandhinagar. However, it remains to be formally inaugurated.
The sources said that now not only decisions relating to policing of the maritime border would be taken quickly, there would also be direct and constant contact with the state government, which has its marine agencies like Gujarat Maritime Board, fisheries department and coastal police. Good co-ordination among all these agencies will help guard better the state's long maritime border, particularly in the border district of Kutch. They said the Coast Guard in the state would now have more ships, boats and other equipment to effectively guard the sea border.
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