Sri Vijaya Puram, July 13: A coordination meeting under the Chairmanship of Ms. Shweta K. Sugathan, IPS, Superintendent of Police, Police Marine Force (PMF), was held on 10th July 2026 at the PMF Headquarters, Sri Vijaya Puram, to review and strengthen coastal security measures across the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
The meeting was attended by officers of the Police Marine Force, District Police, Fisheries Department and Sagar Mitras through both physical and virtual modes. The discussions focused on enhancing inter-departmental coordination for securing ports, fish landing centres, fish landing points, and other vulnerable coastal areas.
During the meeting, emphasis was laid on strengthening intelligence gathering through active participation of the fishing community, promoting regular interaction between Police and Sagar Mitras, improving information sharing, and encouraging prompt reporting of suspicious activities at sea. Directions were also issued for the formation of dedicated communication groups, regular awareness programmes, and enhanced coordination among all stakeholders.
Several operational issues raised by the Fisheries Department and field officers including illegal fishing, unregistered boats, installation of CCTV cameras at Fish Landing Centres, registration of fishing boats, and the operational readiness of Distress Alert Transmitters (DATs), were discussed in detail. Appropriate action points were assigned to the concerned departments for timely compliance.
The Superintendent of Police, PMF, reiterated that safeguarding the extensive coastline of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a shared responsibility and stressed that effective coastal security can be achieved only through close coordination among the Police, Fisheries Department, Sagar Mitras, and the fishing community.
