Barely a few days after the Mumbai police commissioned the Sealegs — amphibian crafts which can sail on water and can be driven on land, one of them broke down with a punctured tyre.
The 26/11 attack on the city exposed the vulnerability of its 124-km coastline, guarded by the coastal police in their antique boats that moved no faster than 8 km an hour.
It had seemed that the authorities have woken up to the danger when two high-end bulletproof speedboats — Koyna and Kaveri (see picture) — were pressed into service in September. But, less than three months later, Koyna, which cost Rs3.5 crore, is non-functional.
The speedboat has been docked at Lakda Bandar, Sewree, for the past 10 days, awaiting the arrival of a new engine.
“The boat’s engine was unable to take the oil pressure, and never gathered speed. We had to stop running the boat to save its engine from further damage,” deputy police commissioner (motor transport) Kishor Joshi said. “A new engine will be coming from the Goa Shipyard, where the boat was built, but it is taking time because of the holiday season. We expect to receive the engine shortly.”
While Joshi was guarded in his comment, a sub-inspector from the Mumbai Coastal police station, who regularly patrolled in Koyna, said, “The boat’s engine is substandard. It is supposed to soak in water through one side, and spit it out through the other. Koyna’s engine was unable to soak in water, and it led to its failure.
“Also, the engine was unable to cope with pollutants in the sea. It stopped every time a small plastic bag, or just a rope, got stuck in it. Engines of the old motorboats we sail do not stall this frequently because of pollutants.”
After city police commissioner D Sivanandhan flagged off the two boats, Koyna was allotted to the Mumbai Coastal police station. Kaveri, which cost Rs1.5 crore, was given to the Yellow Gate police station. Now, with Koyna out of service, the police are back patrolling the sea in their rusty, old motorboats. “We are on high alert ahead of the new year festivities. It will be difficult to tackle an untoward situation with these outdated boats,” the sub-inspector said.
The “substandard” quality of bulletproof jackets used by the Mumbai police was blamed for the death of its Anti-Terrorism Squad chief, Hemant Karkare, on the night of November 26, 2008.
More than a year gone, the cops are yet to get better quality vests from the state government. The citizens can only hope that high-end speedboats with “substandard” engines will not bring another disaster to the city.
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