KOCHI: The police are all set to intensify night patrolling in the backwaters, especially on the banks where hotels and industrial establishments are situated, following security threat.It has been decided to provide night patrolling after hoteliers and the industrialists complained to the Director General of Police that security in the backwaters was vulnerable and that they often faced threats from anti-social elements. According to sources, the police have been directed to intensify coastal surveillance. The coastal police will buy new boats that can be used for both backwaters and in the sea, sources said. “The coastal areas are very important for us as they have several tourist hotels and industries which can easily fall prey to any kind of attack. The coastal police along with the local police will conduct patrolling of the backwaters during the nights. Most of the hotels that raised complaints were from Fort Kochi, Willingdon Island and Bolgatty,” they said.Police said that proper surveillance of the backwaters could not be conducted as the coastal police were not fully functional. The problem with the coastal police is that they do not have sufficient equipment to carry out patrolling in the backwaters. The boats with coastal police are suitable for sailing in the sea and not for backwaters. There are several boats at present with the Police Department that have not been used following technical snags, they said.IG (Internal Security) S Anand Krishnan said that 10 more coastal police stations will be opened across the state. “All the coastal districts will have coastal police stations. We plan to launch 10 coastal police stations by this year. The coastal police will be provided with advanced diesel boats that can be used both in the sea and backwaters,” Anand Krishnan said.
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