Indian Coast Guard Steps Up Vigil To Prevent Influx At Sri Lanka Border

The Indian Coast Guard on Sunday deployed hovercrafts, aircraft and patrol boats to step up the vigil on the maritime borders with Sri Lanka as protestors took over the presidential residence amid turmoil in the island nation.

The decision was taken with the view of preventing any possible influx of refugees or anti-India elements, officials informed.

Surveillance has also been beefed up in the area stretching from the coast of Tamil Nadu to parts of Kerala coast with Coast Guard assets and personnel and other agencies being deployed there, ANI reported quoting government officials.

Surveillance was upped in the region as soon as the political crisis gripped the neighbouring country where people stormed the presidential residence with the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa having fled the capital Colombo.

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Tamil Nadu Coastal police has been put on high alert along with other central agencies, reports added.

Officials said that people have tried to cross over to India ever since political turmoil in Sri Lanka arising from the economic crisis gripped the nation. However, the numbers are not significant.

Monsoons have also made the sea conditions very tough to travel which would deter the people from trying to use the sea route to enter India, they added.

They further mentioned that the hovercraft units deployed in Mandalay in Myanmar will be key in the surveillance activities as they can travel at high speeds in the marshy areas as well as the shallow waters between India and Sri Lanka.

The Dornier surveillance aircraft of the force are also flying more sorties to keep an eye on the maritime border, they officials added.

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