The attack on the Pakistani naval base last week went on to show how fragile the situation in that country is, and after 26/11 the incident once again showed the world how vulnerable the seas are. Ever since the Mumbai attacks, security experts have been constantly warning that the coastline continues to be the biggest threat.
Indian officials who were travelling with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Africa last week had said that on their return, they would hold discussions in order to review the Karachi attack and its impact on India.
Now, with this team back in New Delhi, the situation is being assessed and the threat factor to India is also being calculated.
The meeting also discussed that threats through the sea continued to pose a danger to India, and sounded a high alert to all coastal areas on Wednesday. The meetings also discussed that terrorists from the Pakistan may attempt to use the sea more often since they realise that it is difficult to man the coast.
Moreover, the situation in Pakistan continues to be extremely fragile. This comes from the looming fear about the series of attacks expected in retaliation to Osama Bin Laden's death.
"Although India is not a direct target, Indian agencies are taking no risks, since they are aware that terror groups can be very unpredictable, and have defied logic more often than not in the past," said a source.
Security experts have concluded that more than the security aspect, the intelligence along the coasts needs to be beefed up since it is extremely difficult to man them without proper intelligence.
Hence it has been decided that more resources would be put into intelligence along the coasts. The process to involve fishermen to provide intelligence along the coast has already begun. Sources say that there are nearly 800 fishermen across the country, providing intelligence to security agencies.
For instance, the coasts of Karnataka, especially off Mangalore, which is considered to be one of the most vulnerable coasts, has around 200 fishermen who are on the payroll of the state government.
The security agencies feel that they are the best suited for the job, since they know their way around the coast better than anyone else, owing to the fact that they have been born and brought up in the area. This gives them an advantage over men who are just out of training.
The fishermen are being trained to keep an eye out for any new ships entering the waters, and notify the Coast Guard, who in turn would verify the level of threat, if any.
"In addition to this, they have been given cell phones so that can stay in touch with the local police. Mock drills are also being conducted on a regular basis," the source added.
While reviewing the situation along the coast, a senior official said, "Compared with our coastal security two years ago, we are in a much better situation today. While there is still much to be done, we have done a good job so far."
"There is still a lot the state governments have to do since relying only on the Centre would be foolhardy. Most of them have set up coastal police stations and some are yet to do so," he added.
