WEST BENGAL’S COASTAL SECURITY DISCUSSED AT 8TH APEX COMMITTEE REVIEW MEETING

The 8th Apex Committee Review Meeting (ACRM) on coastal security for West Bengal was conducted by the Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command over video conference on Tuesday. The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Adm Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command, and Hari Krishna Dwivedi, Chief Secretary to the Government of West Bengal.

The meeting was convened as an Annual Review of Coastal Security issue of West Bengal. All key issues and developments/progress made since the last review in 2019 were discussed and suitably addressed. Various challenges in the maritime domain, as well as future measures and possible solutions to enhance the effectiveness of coastal security, were deliberated upon to chart the way ahead. The meeting achieved its overall aim of finding solutions to strengthen the coastal security of West Bengal as well as achieve greater synergy among all stakeholders. It was attended by representatives from all stakeholders namely the Indian Navy, State Government of West Bengal, Coast Guard, BSF, NSG, Customs, IWAI, SMPK Port, Marine Police, IB, Dept of Fisheries, BSNL, ISRO, GRSE, and CISF.