APEX Committee reviews coastal security initiatives of Andhra

Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) [India], July 16 (ANI): The 5th Apex Committee Review Meeting (ACRM) on Coastal Security of Andhra Pradesh was conducted by Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam on Friday.

The review meeting was co-chaired by Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, AVSM, VSM, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command and Aditya Nath Das IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh and attended by the representatives from all the stakeholders including from the State Government of Andhra Pradesh, Coast Guard, IB, Customs, CISF, Marine Police, Department of Fisheries, Minor Port Authorities and Oil Operators.

As per an official release by the state government, key issues on coastal security, developments and progress made since the last review in 2019 were discussed and suitably addressed. Various actions promulgated by the Steering Committee for Review of Coastal Security (SCRCS) such as identification and communication with fishing vessels, their colour coding, training and equipment of Coastal Police and their infrastructure development issues, setting up of village committees etc. were discussed and deliberated upon and a clear way ahead was finalised.

The meeting achieved its overall aim of finding solutions to strengthen the Coastal Security of Andhra Pradesh as well as achieve greater synergy among all the stakeholders. Meeting in 2020 could not be held view COVID pandemic situation. On the sidelines of the meeting, Aditya Nath Das IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh had discussions with Vice Admiral AB Singh, FOC-in-C, ENC and was briefed on the activities of Command. The Chief Secretary was also briefed on various ongoing and future naval infrastructure projects being undertaken in Andhra Pradesh.

The Chief Secretary assured full support to the Indian Navy and urged all stakeholders to complete actions in a time-bound manner. (ANI)