KOCHI: A new Coast Guard station was commissioned at Androth in Lakshadweep Islands on Thursday. The station, named Indian Coast Guard Station (ICGS) Androth, was commissioned by Vice-Admiral K N Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Southern Naval Command.The Coast Guard already operates two stations in the Lakshadweep Islands - one in Kavaratti where district headquarters No 12 has been established and another in Minicoy. Both these stations were commissioned by Defence Minister A K Antony in December 2010. ICGS Androth will function under Coast Guard district headquarters No 12.Addressing the gathering after the commissioning ceremony, Admiral Sushil dwelt upon the necessity for continued coordination and synergy between various stakeholders in maritime and coastal security.Indian Coast Guard director-general Vice-Admiral M P Muralidharan highlighted the initiatives taken by the Coast Guard to augment manpower and force levels to meet existing and future challenges. Setting up of stations at strategically important locations, such as this, would provide requisite fillip to coastal security efforts, Admiral Muralidharan said. “The Coast Guard is also in the process of setting up a chain of static sensors with automatic identification system along the entire coastline of the country to enable effective monitoring of shipping and fishing traffic. An air station of the Indian Coast Guard is also on the anvil at Minicoy,” defence authorities said in a statement.
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