Bhubaneswar: The Coast Guard today commissioned an air squadron at the Biju Patnaik airport to ensure effective surveillance on the Odisha coast.
But the airport, which got an international airport tag last year, did not find place in the country's draft aviation policy, triggering protest from the state government.
With an aim to ensure better security during the Nabakalebar (change of idols) festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in 2015, the Coast Guard is going to intensify its surveillance along the coast, especially in Puri.
"The government machinery will be mobilised to ensure terror-free Nabakalebar in sync with the inputs given by various intelligence agencies,'' said Coast Guard director general vice-admiral Anurag G. Thapliyal, who launched the air squadron at the airport.
The Coast Guard DG said: "The commissioning of the 743 squadron with two Dornier aircraft and the air enclave will help in not only providing safer maritime trade and shipping activities, but also safety for the olive ridley turtles along the Gahirmatha coast as the region is the biggest nesting ground for the turtles in the world.''
Coast Guard's 'Operation Olivia', a special move to save the marine biodiversity along the Odisha coast, has an interceptor ship and the efforts have already earned the Coast Guard a Greenpeace award for its conservation effort in 2008.
16/12/14 Bibhuti Barik and Subrat Das/The Telegraph
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But the airport, which got an international airport tag last year, did not find place in the country's draft aviation policy, triggering protest from the state government.
With an aim to ensure better security during the Nabakalebar (change of idols) festival of Lord Jagannath and his siblings in 2015, the Coast Guard is going to intensify its surveillance along the coast, especially in Puri.
"The government machinery will be mobilised to ensure terror-free Nabakalebar in sync with the inputs given by various intelligence agencies,'' said Coast Guard director general vice-admiral Anurag G. Thapliyal, who launched the air squadron at the airport.
The Coast Guard DG said: "The commissioning of the 743 squadron with two Dornier aircraft and the air enclave will help in not only providing safer maritime trade and shipping activities, but also safety for the olive ridley turtles along the Gahirmatha coast as the region is the biggest nesting ground for the turtles in the world.''
Coast Guard's 'Operation Olivia', a special move to save the marine biodiversity along the Odisha coast, has an interceptor ship and the efforts have already earned the Coast Guard a Greenpeace award for its conservation effort in 2008.
16/12/14 Bibhuti Barik and Subrat Das/The Telegraph
