Udupi, July 30: As many as 20 Distress Alert Transmitters (DAT) were given to the fishermen in Malpe free of cost by the Indian Coast Guard in a community interaction programme jointly organised by the Karnataka Fisheries and Indian Coast Guard here at Malpe Harbour on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, Coast Guard (Mangalore) Commandant Rajendra Sapal Singh opined that it is essential that fishermen join their hands with the Coast Guard to safeguard the long stretched coast of the country. Today, the country is faced with terror attacks very often and it is easier to pass explosives through sea than land and air. There is strict vigilance carried out at the borders.
Utmost security measures should be adopted at sea fences to stop the trafficking of explosives. Fishing community need to be involved in intelligence gathering network, he added.DAT is an equipment with four types of emergency buttons and is to be maintained at boats' cabin. It is water proof with 24 hours working capacity. As many as 123 DATs have been distributed across Karnataka, of which 85 were given away in the year 2011.
The four emergency buttons indicate the emergencies like fire, medical assistance, distress call for damages and when the boat is sinking and last button is for man overboard. It is connected to GPS via satellite.
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