The Indian Navy is concerned over the arrival of empty boats, some with bullet marks, off Rameswaram coast recently, Vice Admiral Nirmal Kumar Varma, Vishakapatinam, in-Charge of Eastern Naval Command said on Thursday (December 11).
“This cannot be taken lightly. It is for the state police and the Centre to find out reasons for the arrival of these boats,” he told reporters in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu. He, however, said there was no threat from LTTE.
The Tamil Nadu police in a press release on Wednesday (December 10) said that “thorough investigations” revealed that the boats had apparently drifted from Sri Lanka due to the recent cyclone.
Vice Admiral Varma said the air Station at Uchipuli on the Tamil Nadu coast needs to be extended so that Dornier aircraft could land there. Steps would be taken to extend the runway at Uchipuli naval base, he said after visiting the naval base here.
He, however, said there was no need to expand the naval base at Rameswaram, as it had sufficient strength of personnel, ships and equipment to counter any threat. He also stressed the need for providing jetties for the fishermen’s boats so that it would be able to identify any outside boats being anchored.
(With inputs from agencies)
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