One eye on the Kutch coast

From Mid-day
By: J Dey and pics/Pradeep Dhivar Date:  2010-11-28


Suspicion and silence mark the coastal districts of Kutch bordering Pakistan, which Sunday MiD DAY visited on the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks 

Mumbai's 26/11 terror attacks changed the atmosphere along India's coasts, especially where Gujarat bordered Pakistan. An invisible army of intelligence operatives and security along hundreds  of miles of marshy land use electronic surveillance to man the ports, some as close as 30 nautical miles from the borders of Pakistan.

BSF jawans at the Lakhpat Fort bordering Pakistan

The coastal areas of Koteshwar, Lakhpat and Jakhau near Naliya have been brought under surveillance in the aftermath of the terror attacks. The Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the Intelligence Bureau and the Border Security Force (BSF)  have aided this development. Most hamlets have been flooded with spies who track movement of vehicles and people in the area. While the BSF forms the outer ring  of defence, intelligence operatives under cover are active in the villages bordering the salt pans and marshy estuaries. An eerie silence pervades the area during the day. After nightfall, it's devoid of any human activity, with most villagers treating visitors with suspicion. 

Armed BSF marksmen have been positioned at vantage points, and sensitive radars have been placed to pick up every signal. Hovercrafts have been deployed to keep vigil on the inaccessible marshy stretches along the Rann of Kutch. At Koteshwar and Sir Creek, BSF have positioned floating Border Out Posts or BOPs, as they are known in local parlance. The task is far from simple, with the vagaries of nature posing as much of a challenge as the anti-social elements. 

Deputy Inspector General (Kutch region) Manoj Agarwal refused to comment on security arrangements in the area but a senior BSF officer on condition of anonymity revealed that the government had sanitised surrounding villages, clearing them of arms and infiltrators. The villagers themselves form the third line of defence, each one having been briefed to look  out for suspicious persons. Some villagers have even been lured into turning informers.

Dhows (sailing vessels) and large trawlers are the biggest threat to security with vessels slipping into the porous harbour with impunity. Around the harbours of Porbandar, Jamnagar, Mundra, Tuna and Luni, security arrangements were far from satisfactory. Crew members from dhows sailing in from Pakistan and the Gulf have been known to slip in and out of the docks.
http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/nov/281110-lakhpat-fort-kutch-pakistan-border-mumbai-terror-attacks.htm