Vigilant watchdog of water border – uttamhindu.com

country today indian Celebrating the glorious journey of 46 years of Coast Guard on the occasion of 47th Raising Day of Coast Guard. The Indian Coast Guard, functioning under the Ministry of Defence, was established on the recommendation of the Rustomjee Committee to look after and protect the Exclusive Economic Zones. The Indian Coast Guard was raised as a new service on 1 February 1977 to ensure the safety of life and property at sea by enforcing national laws within the national jurisdiction of India. The Indian Coast Guard is the smallest armed force of India, headed by the Director General of the Indian Coast Guard, an officer of the rank of Vice-Admiral of the Indian Navy. The Coast Guard has two Coast Guard Commanders, who head the Western Sea Board and the Eastern Sea Board. The headquarters of the Indian Coast Guard is located in New Delhi, which is divided into five zones. The regional headquarters of the Western Region are at Mumbai, the Eastern Region at Chennai, the North Eastern Region at Kolkata, the Andaman and Nicobar Region at Port Blair and the North Western Region at Gandhinagar. There are sixteen Coast Guard District Headquarters, which are manned by Coast Guard District Commander level officers. The Indian Coast Guard works in close coordination with the Navy, Department of Fisheries, Department of Revenue and Central and State Police forces.

In the 1960s, due to the failure to detect illegal movement in fishing activities near the coasts, increasing incidents of smuggling through sea routes and no effective system in place for registration of fishing boats or crafts at sea, India suffered a major There was financial loss. The discovery of oil at Bombay High at that time resulted in setting up of valuable plants in the offshore area and hence the need for disaster management measures and security of India’s important industrial areas and economic interests in the maritime sector was being felt. That’s why the need for the formation of a separate service was felt and in 1970 the Nag Committee was established. The committee, in its recommendation, stressed the need for a separate maritime force to combat smuggling activities. The Rustomjee Committee was constituted in September 1974 under the chairmanship of IPS KF Rustomjee, former Director General of the Border Security Force, to deal with the problems of smuggling at sea and study the establishment of an organization like the Coast Guard. The committee recommended the formation of a Coast Guard Service, which is fully equipped and on the lines of the Coast Guards of a developed nation like America and on the lines of the Indian Navy, operating normally under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defense India in peace time. Protect the seas of The Rustomjee Commission’s recommendations for the formation of a Coast Guard to provide non-military maritime services, keeping the Navy separate from its wartime functions, were accepted on 7 January 1976 and the Maritime Zones Act of India was passed on 25 August 1976. Under which India claimed 2.01 lakh square kilometers of sea area. This included the right for India to explore and exploit both biological and non-biological resources in the sea. Ultimately, the Union Cabinet decided to constitute an Interim Coast Guard Organization with effect from 1 February 1977 with two ships and five patrol boats transferred from the Indian Navy to guard India’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

However, the Indian Coast Guard was formally inaugurated on 19 August 1978 by Morarji Desai, the then Prime Minister of India, as an independent armed force under the Coast Guard Act, 1978. The Coast Guard is characterized by preparedness, promptness and accountability and its motto is ‘Vayam Raksham:’ meaning ‘We protect’. Along with the three parts of the Indian Army, which are ready for the security of the country in all the three areas of air, water and land, the Indian Coast Guard forces also have a very important contribution in the security of the country, which are alert to protect the Indian coasts round the clock. Today, the Indian Coast Guard along with the Navy is playing an important role in protecting the country’s coasts. The main tasks of the Indian Coast Guard are to protect maritime interests and enforce maritime laws, vigilance and security of beaches, artificial islands and offshore stations, protection of marine environment and pollution control and prevention, protection of life and property at sea, protection of fishermen. protection of marine life, assistance to fishermen in case of emergency at sea, collection of scientific data, assistance to Customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations, maintenance of law and order in Exclusive Economic Zones. The Coast Guard also plays a special role in dealing with flood-like situations in rivers. The Indian Navy patrols the sea area ahead of the sea coasts. Indian Coast Guard has seized various contraband items worth more than Rs 1150 crore since its inception.
Yogesh Kumar Goyal