Hi-tech gadgets, ships secure PM’s Kanyakumari sojourn

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, June 1

During PM Narendra Modi’s 45-hour meditation at Kanyakumari, a key task for security agencies was to secure the sea and ensure gap-free round-the-clock surveillance around the venue.

Dhayan Mandapam, where Modi did his mediation, is located at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial at the sea. The task of securing access from the sea was with the Navy. Sources say during any such visit of the PM security management is under the Special Protection Group (SPG). The local police, central agencies and armed forces are mandated to operate under the SPG guidelines mentioned in what is termed in security circles as “blue book”.

The sources say standard deployment is done at Kanyakumari, including armed commandoes, to prevent any incident at sea. The Navy, for any PM’s event at sea, deploys latest gadgetry, ships and armed men, besides a battery of coastal radars and sensors to keep an eye at sea and UAVs to scan any air-borne threat. Fast interceptor crafts of the Navy that can operate under the sea are part of the deployment.

The forces create a sanitised zone at sea, which is a no-go for anyone, no fishermen, no adventure sports, no swimmers and no boats or rafts. The radius of this sanitised zone varies as per the threat perception.

A chain of coastal radars create a live image for dissemination to Navy teams of ground for immediate action. Indian fishing boats have an automated identification system (AIS) transponder that beam information to Navy’s information collection centre.

In the past, Modi has had spent a day at sea and the security drills are well rehearsed. This time, the only difference was Modi was at the location for almost two days.

Modi, like any other Indian PM, is flown by planes, helicopters under the VIP Squadron. The pilots are draw from the IAF. The planes are Boeing business jets and Russian Mi-17V5 helicopters.