Port Blair, Oct 28: The Indian Coast Guard, District Headquarters-14 conducted a Pollution Response Seminar and Mock Drill from 25 to 26 Oct 23, at Port Blair. The Training and Workshop was in sync with the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) for which Indian Coast Guard is Competent National Authority for coordinating marine oil pollution response. Dy Inspector General Pradeep B Mandal, TM, District Commander No. 14 (South & Little Andaman) chaired the seminar and highlighted the importance of preparedness by all stakeholders including A&N Administration, Disaster Management Board, Port Management Board, Forest Dept., IOCL, PMF, etc.
Ms. Veditha Reddy, IAS, Deputy Commissioner, Andaman and Nicobar Administration (South Andaman) attended the inaugural session and was briefed on the pollution response mechanism and shown the PR equipment of Indian Coast Guard, which is the sole pollution response equipment inventory holder in the entire Andaman & Nicobar Islands. She admitted the desirability of augmenting the Pollution Response capability of A & N Administration for safeguarding these ecologically sensitive islands. She also appreciated Indian Coast Guard for their yeoman efforts in this niche area and highlighted the requirement of collaboration between Coast Guard and District Disaster Committee, A & N Administration, for quicker response in safeguarding the marine environment.
During the seminar speakers including DIG PB Mandal (ICG), Commandant Zakir Hussain (ICG), Mr Sandeep Behra (IFS), Shri Pradipto Pal (M/s IOCL) shared their expertise and insights w.r.t. oil pollution response mechanism at sea. All delegates agreed to enhance PR capability and capacity to safeguard the environmentally sensitive marine ecology of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
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