During the 26/11 attacks in 2008, terrorists had entered the city via the porous sea route to lay mayhem, with one of their targets being Hotel Taj Mahal at Gateway of India.
In a major step towards enhancing security, the Mumbai police, with the help of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT), have set up portable cabins or Porta Cabins at four jetties at Gateway of India in Colaba. Each cabin will have two constables, a port trust official, a metal detector and a baggage screening machine. The system will work on the lines of passenger baggage checking at airports.
During the 26/11 attacks in 2008, terrorists had entered the city via the porous sea route to lay mayhem, with one of their targets being Hotel Taj Mahal at Gateway of India.
"A watch tower has been erected to keep a vigil at the Badhwar Park in Cuffe Parade, which was used by the 10 Pakistani terrorists to sneak into the city in 2008. Our men work in two-hour shifts at the watch tower and are armed with binoculars and communication devices," said a police officer, requesting anonymity.
He further said, "The coast at the Gateway of India, however, still remains relatively unguarded. Like the international airport, even the Gateway is an entry point to the city. Till date, there is no check whatsoever on who is entering or exiting the city. It has been a cause of concern for us. Since the 2008 attack, there has been a fear that terrorists might strike again through the sea route. Such alerts keep coming from the central intelligence agencies. Hence, it was important for us to take some quick security measures at the Gateway."
The police officer added that the five jetties at Gateway, belonging to the MbPT, connect Elephanta caves, Alibaug, Bombay High and international waters, and the daily human traffic there is over 5,000. "Considering the high number of people entering and exiting the city through the jetties daily, it was important for us to take some evasive security measures. Recently, with the help of the port trust officials, we got four Porta Cabins made at four jetties.
These cabins are right at the entry and exit point. The idea is to have airport-like security checks," said the officer.
Meanwhile, according to sources, each cabin is approximately 200 square feet in size and is equipped with CCTV cameras. "Effective checking will help us not only avert any terrorist sneak-in issue, but will also be useful in cases of smuggling. Each baggage screening machine costs around Rs1 crore. We have requested the port trust officials to provide screening machines to us at the earliest. We are also in talks with the port trust and a club to make a Porta Cabin at the fifth jetty with similar equipment," an officer from Colaba police station said.
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