Professional swimmers, more boats to man city coastline

The marine unit of the Mumbai police, which is entrusted with the responsibility of coastal policing, is all set to get better-armed and equipped.

The unit has recently given a proposal to the government to recruit 800 professional swimmers and divers to join the force. This is for the first time that the government will be recruiting professional swimmers for the force.

“We will be procuring more boats for coastal security and will require skilled persons like fitters, carpenters and cabin crew kind of people. We have recently got sanction of 206 posts for skilled workers from the police department. These people will join us soon,” said deputy commissioner of police, Port Zone, Quaisar Khalid.

He added that a proposal had been given to the government a few months ago asking for recruitment of professional swimmers and divers. “As of now our men in the marine unit are being trained by navy and coast guard offices. We have regular workshops with them. But in the coming recruitment of 11,000 policemen, we have asked for 800 posts especially for those who know swimming. They will be asked to serve in the marine unit,” Khalid said.

“We never had skilled persons and whenever our boats or small vessels required repair, it were sent to motor transport department. Sometimes, it would take many days for the department to complete minor repair works, but now with the inclusion of skilled persons, small problems will be dealt with quickly. Also the batch of professional swimmers can be posted at various sea points in the city. Some of the marine unit officers might also get attached to the local police stations,” said a senior police official.

Also, the unit has added more teeth by getting executive powers. “There are around 21 police stations in the city, which share the sea front. Earlier, when we used to catch someone doing suspicious activities in the waters, we had to hand over them to the local police. But now after getting executive powers we can make arrests, register and investigate a case against those who are involved in criminal activities at sea,” said an officer from marine unit, requesting anonymity.

More emphasis on getting better and trained policemen for the assumes high significance, as on Monday defence minister AK Antony had underlined the threat from the coastline but said the Indian armed forces were vigilant enough to defeat the terrorists. Antony had addressed the annual Coast Guard commanders’ conference in Delhi.

“The importance of coastal security dawned on the government only after 26/11. It is now all the more important, due to the security situation around India. There is an urgent need to keep India’s vast maritime zones under effective round-the-year surveillance by utilising all the assets at our disposal,” Antony had said.