50% cops in coastal station can’t swim Mumbai police’s coastal security audit comes up with shocking details

19, Aug 2015

Source URL: http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=81774&boxid=36304&ed_date=2015-08-19&ed_code=820009&ed_page=3

Divyesh Nair @divyeshn
Mumbai: Those who know how to swim are the ones who sink. If proverbs don’t lie, more than half the policemen posted in Mumbai’s coastal police station will never sink in their lives. Out of the 450 policemen in the stations, around 230 don’t know how to swim! The admission comes
from the Mumbai police themselves, after a recent coastal security audit.
“We have around 230 policemen who don’t know to swim or some who are not confident. We have already identified them and have started their training. We intend to train them in three months and have sought naval help,” said deputy commissioner of police (port zone), Kiran Chavan.
Bad luck has been haunting the coastal police right from day one. The idea of coastal policing was born after the 26/11 terror attacks. Security around the 114-km coastline of Mumbai is of topmost priority to the Mumbai police as they are the first responders to any incident in the sea till 12 nautical miles, along with the Coast Guard.