India will be installing another 42 radar stations along the 7,500 Km-long coastline taking the total number of coastal radars stations to over 85. The radar stations will cost the country ₹80 billion.
There are already 46 coastal radar functioning.The decision to add on more coastal radar stations was taken on Tuesday by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) — the highest body headed by the Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that decides on the acquisition.
Defence Public Sector Unit — Bharat Electronic Limited — will set-up and integrate them.
India radically changed its costal surveillance system after the 26 November 2008 Mumbai terror attack in which ten Pakistan-based terrorists entered India through the sea route onboard a hijacked fishing boat. About 166 people were killed and several hundreds were injured in the carnage.
The new radar stations are a part of the phase-II of Coastal Security Plan that was drawn up after the Mumbai terror attack. The first phase of the plan — where radars are seamlessly linked to Joint Control Rooms (JCR) throwing a real time picture of the coast and ship movements — has been operational since 2013. The Joint Control Rooms are manned by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
Besides the 38 additional coastal radar stations, there will be four mobile coastal radars post. The chain of radars apart from beaming live feed into Joint Control Rooms will be also integrated with two Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) located at Gulf Kutch and Gulf of Khambat, both located in Gujarat on the western sea-board adjoining Pakistan.
The VTMS is anti-collision system that aids cargo ships and also keeps tracks of movements of ships. One VTMS is already functioning in Mumbai.
By Baishakhi Dutta
