Port Blair, Oct. 16: The Indian Coast Guard conducted exercise ‘Sagar Kavach’ to validate the effectiveness of Coastal Security mechanism at Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The exercise commenced at 0600 hrs on 14th Oct and was terminated at 1800 hrs on 15th Oct. The exercise was conducted under the aegis of Chief Secretary, A & N Administration, Chairman of UT Coastal Security Committee. The main aim of the exercise was to evaluate the threats emanating from seaward in present geo-political conditions and validate existing Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) of all 17 Stakeholders to neutralize the threat.
The 17 Stakeholders who participated in the exercise include Indian Army, Indian Air force, Indian Navy, A & N Police, PMF, forest Dept., Fisheries Dept., Customs, PMB, DSS and various intelligence agencies.
Real time Threats/situations were simulated for all the participating agencies to assess their preparedness and update SoPs. Enhanced security measures were instituted through security patrol at sea by Indian Coast Guard/ IN/ PMF/ forest ships/boats and aircrafts. Elaborate arrangements for the Bandobast were made by A & N Police at all security sensitive places to thwart any nefarious intensions of Anti National Elements (ANE).
The Exercise was an overall resounding success. It was instrumental in strengthening the close coordination among all military/ civil agencies in A&N islands and develop progressive synergy.