Chennai top cop swims seven km in Gulf of Mannar
The team swam from Van Island to Siluvepatti village coast
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-10-21 06:00 GMT
Chennai: Additional director general of police, C.Sylendra Babu, 53, now heading the Coastal Security Group of Tamil Nadu police, managed to swim seven km along with his marine commando team across in the Gulf of Mannar from Van island (Church island) to Thoothukudi coast. This was aimed at improving liaison with fishermen in marine security issues.
“It took three-and-a-half hours this morning because of heavy under currents,” Sylendra Babu told this newspaper. The team comprising Sylendra Babu, five marine commandos and two fishermen, swam across the waters for three and a half hours, though they thought it would be over in an hour. “The sea was calm yesterday and that is why we decided to swim today.
But unexpectedly, the sea changed and we had to swim against strong currents this morning, Sylendra Babu said. The team swam from Van Island to Siluvepatti village coast. The entire police team was trained in Tamil Nadu police academy for six months to undertake the mission.
After occasional cycle rallies, this is the first time CSG is taking up a swimming mission to bring awareness among the fishing community on security issues. The group had already recruited hundreds of volunteers from among fishermen as marine home guards to help the organisation in security issues.
The marine commandos are already trained in dealing with hostage situations, maneuvering of boats and hot pursuit at sea. These commandos are also trained in sharp shooting and survival techniques in the islands near Rameswaram besides in scuba diving.