Ensure adequate security arrangements at fishing harbours: Shah

New Delhi, Jul 10 (PTI) Asserting that the government wants to make coastal security "unbreachable", Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said the superintendents of police should ensure adequate security arrangements a the fishing harbours under their jurisdiction and that only permanent police personnel should be deployed there. Stressing the need to strengthen the security of fishing harbours and fish-landing centres, Shah directed the Department of Fisheries to write to the district magistrates (DMs) and SPs of all districts, asking them to submit a list of all fish-landing centres in their respective districts to the Centre. The home minister also directed that the "Nabhmitra" app, developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), be promoted more extensively so that a larger number of fishermen can download it on their mobile phones, according to a statement issued by the government. Emphasising that the registration process for fishermen should be made simpler and more accessible, Shah directed that the SPs should "ensure adequate security arrangements at fish-landing centres and that only permanent police personnel should be deployed at these facilities", the statement said. The home minister also chaired a review meeting that was attended by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal to assess the progress made in setting up the Bureau of Port Security (BoPS). He directed that only those private security personnel who have been trained by the CISF be deployed in the BoPS and that a database of such personnel created. The meeting was attended by the Union home secretary, the director of the Intelligence Bureau, the secretary for border management, the secretary for ports, shipping and waterways, the secretary in the Department of Fisheries, the director general of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and other senior officials. Shah said "only licensed private security" agencies should be entrusted with port security. He said the training of security personnel for the Port Security Training Institute (PSTI) should commence at the earliest, using the existing infrastructure available for the institute. A database of all security personnel to be deployed under the BoPS should be created, the home minister said. "He also said that all ports covered under the BoPS security framework should have container-scanning facilities. Union Home Minister directed the CISF to conduct trial runs of the security arrangements proposed to be handed over to the BoPS at major ports across the country, including Visakhapatnam Port, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, and Mundra Port," the statement said. The BoPS is being established as a statutory body under the provisions of section 13 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 2025. Headed by a director general, the BoPS will be responsible for regulatory and inspection functions relating to the security of ships and port facilities under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways. "It will ensure the timely analysis, collection and sharing of security-related information, with a special focus on cyber security. The Bureau will also have a dedicated division to safeguard the IT infrastructure of ports against digital threats," the statement said. PTI ABS RC