Thiruvananthapuram: Coast Guard steps up surveillance post IS threat

Thiruvananthapuram: The coastal belt in the state capital are under the scanner of the Coast Guard and police following the recent intelligent report on the Islamic State operatives setting off sail from Sri Lanka to Kerala coast.  Foreign vessels and stray fishing boats are keeping the guards and police on the toes.

An official of the Kerala Coast Guard said that Kerala coast is more open. "Our coast lies on the western side of the Tamil Nadu and terrorists or anti-nationals can come in easily. We have stepped up security for the past few weeks. A two-week operation was carried out ahead of the election verdict across the state. But we decided not to scale down the surveillance. We are watching the coast 24*7," said the official.

The official said that they have tied up with the fisherman for getting information on unfamiliar vessels or fishing boats. "The sea is vast and it's impossible to scan the entire coast all the time. So we are in touch with the fishermen. We got a couple of tip-off from them recently but fortunately, all of the stray boats or vessel were fishing boats," said the official