By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, June 16, 2016 : Odisha has sought Central government’s help in making the 18 marine police stations in the state fully operational to thwart any maritime terrorism in the state.

Home secretary Asit Tripathy, who attended a review meeting on coastal security at Mumbai on Thursday, urged for more steps to make these police stations operational.

“We raised the demand for equipment required to make the 18 police stations operational. We demanded interceptor boats and specially designed boats to facilitate surveillance in mangroves, creeks etc. We also discussed the need for trained police personnel,” said Tripathy after the meeting.

All boats plying through the coast will be put under surveillance from now on. Moreover, fishing boats will be coloured differently to make identification easier and biometric cards will be issued to fishermen for their easy identification. A transponder will be installed in each and every boat to facilitate surveillance. Tripathy said.

Speaking on the occasion, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said maritime terrorism is a big threat with huge economic implications and the government is carrying out a security audit of all major and non-major ports to identify vulnerable points in coastal security.