Mangaluru: Additional Director-General of Police (Recruitment) and former Home Secretary Raghavendra H. Auradkar on Saturday, April 21 addressed the valedictory function thereby concludingthe two -day conference on ‘Coastal Security: Challenges and concerns’ at Mangalore University. He spoke about how we need to step up our game in order to enhance our coastal security.

“The Coastal Security Police (CSP) and the local police should interact more with fishermen to understand the activities along the 320-km- long Karnataka coastline,” he said. Interaction with local fishermen will aid us in acquiring intelligence about illegal activities on and off the coast. The CSP wing was established in Karnataka in 1999. However, we haven’t exactly made full use of it yet.

In his report, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has mentioned that that over 40% of the posts in CSP are vacant which has resulted in lack of manpower and the skills to gather intelligence. Mr. Raghavendra noted that CSP force needs professional training in maritime policing.

Former director of shipping Deepak Shetty also stated the need for providing the fishing community with a sense of belonging. First, we have to sensitize them about security agencies. Security forces can then involve them in guarding the coastline. He encouraged college students to take initiative in spreading awareness about coastal security forces like CSP to the fishing community