Kendrapara: The Odisha government has established three marine police stations along the 48-km-long coastline of Kendrapara district. These police stations were established long back with an aim to curb infiltration of Bengali immigrants and maintain law and order in the areas along the coastline. However, these police stations are far from achieving their goals and have failed to function properly due to manpower crunch and allied issues.
Notwithstanding their presence, the infiltration by Bengali immigrants through the sea route continues unabated to the district. Local intelligentsia alleged that these police stations have failed to achieve their objective due to acute shortage of manpower and infrastructural facilities.
Social activist Sunil Kumar Gantayat said that terrorists had come through sea route November 26, 2008 and attacked Mumbai. Later, marine police stations were established in various parts of the country to keep a watch on the sea routes and protect the residents in adjoining areas from any imminent attack by terrorists.
The establishment of marine police stations at Jambu, Talachua and Tantiapala in Kendrapara was part of this plan. Despite the establishment of marine police stations, they are far from realising their objectives. These police stations except participating in mock drills twice in a year have failed to keep a watch on any suspicious activity in sea due to lack of necessary equipment, manpower and infrastructure.
Among these three marine police stations, the one at Jambu situated at a distance of five km from the Jambu boat jetty is a case in this point. This police station initially started functioning from Kharinasi in 2009.
Later, it was shifted to its new building at Jambu in 2012. It lacks a proper road and it is nearly impossible to reach by a two-wheeler, not to speak of four-wheelers during rainy season. This police station lacks adequate manpower and necessary speed boats to keep a close tab on sea routes through patrolling, he added.
A senior resident Lakshmidhar Swain said that Kendrapra district is plagued by illegal intrusion and there is dire need to ensure proper security in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary area. As per rule, every police station needs to have a minimum of 81 employees. However, these three police stations are functioning with only a handful of staffers.
All these three police stations lack a naval officer, boat drivers and necessary number of speed boats. The Forest department has banned fishing in sea areas from November till May-2023 for mass nesting and mating of rare Olive Ridley turtles. The forest officials are conducting routine checks and patrolling for any suspicious and untoward activities as well as illegal fishing in the sea. The officials of these marine police stations have failed to be of any help in this task.
On the other hand, the open and porous sea routes have proved opportune for the illegal immigrants. They travel by the sea at night and sneak into the district without the knowledge of police officials of these marine police stations. Swain demanded to upgrade the infrastructure of these three police stations and ensure proper security by checking infiltrations by the coastlines.
A local resident Prabhu Prasad Mohapatra said these three marine police stations have also been tasked with maintenance of law and order in some revenue villages in their respective areas. This consumes most of their time for which they fail to concentrate on checking illegal intrusion. These police stations could function properly if they are provided with more staff and equipment.
When contacted, SP Madkar Sambit Sampad said that the staff strength in these three police stations has been increased in this financial year. Plans are afoot to fill up the vacant posts and supply speed boats to these police stations, he added.
