Konkan coast: 600-km invitation to terror

What’s disturbing, sources say, is that the Customs ship that usually patrols this stretch was in Mumbai for repairs when the Al Murtada was drifting near Ratnagiri. Mere coincidence? Or was the timing part of a sinister design?

The entire coast had been alerted about the movements of suspicious ships — including M.V. Ibrahimi, which had docked at Karachi on March 24. But just last week, the M.V. Arabian Victory managed to reach the shores of Mumbai before being denied berthing facilities.

The Konkan coast, which borders the Sahyadri range to its east and hugs the Arabian Sea to its west, is a 600-odd kilometre invitation for ships and boats wanting to land contraband, arms and ammunition. Its innumerable coves, estuaries, inlets and lagoons are difficult to police and act like a sieve for contraband. Completing picture are the fishing villages and their inhabitants who ferry the consignments to various destinations.

The idyll was shattered on February 23, 1993, when a huge consignment of RDX landed at Dighi and Shekhadi about 100 km from Mumbai in Raigad district. The explosives were used to rain terror on Mumbai, with around 400 people being killed in the serial bomb blasts on March 12.

Coast Guard officials say the 28-km stretch from Chaul to Rajpuri, which culminates in Dighi, is particularly vulnerable as there is practically no patrolling here. At the Revdanda checkpost nearby, a lone policeman holds the fort.

But the Coast Guard and Customs, it appears, are equally culpable. Locals say that though three patrol boats are deployed in the area, they are usually anchored off Agar Danda, a few nautical miles up the Dighi creek.

Here, the creek cuts its way into the coastline and is too far from potential landing sites. Also, some members of the patrolling units allegedly have links with the owners of barges used to smuggle contraband.

The age-old Borli-Mhasala route, which is used to funnel in contraband, is familiar to the locals and policing agencies alike. Yet at Shekadi, Mhasala and Borli, there is no police presence. Here, the owners of large boats and barges, with the help of the locals, have a free run. Srivardhan taluka, at the southern tip of Raigad district, has also gained notoriety for such activities. Another inviting spot for agents of terror is the shallow lagoon at Bankot Bay. Perched at the extreme northern tip of Ratnagiri district and facing the southern edge of Raigad district, the bay offers near-total seclusion. Here, unidentified barges are often seen unloading goods into smaller boats before they disappear into deeper waters.

SP (Raigad district), Bhujangrao Shinde, told The Indian Express that he is aware that there are not many policemen manning outposts. ‘‘Villagers and sarpanches have been alerted to step up vigil and coastal patrolling has been intensified,’’ was all he has to offer by way of explanation.

Further down the Konkan coast in Sindhurdurg district bordering Goa, police presence is equally negligible. Here, drug smuggling, which feeds the footloose tourist in the former Portuguese colony of Goa, is rampant. DIG (Police), Goa, Karnal Singh, agrees. ‘‘There are quite a few seizures during the tourist season. Much of this comes in from Mumbai and the Goa police have arrested some suspects,’’ he says.

In particular, the port city of Vasco-da-Gama is considered the gateway of drug traffickers. Security at the docks is lax and fishing boats make quite a catch of contraband as they drift along the sandy shore.

The Coast Guard is now confronted with a new threat. Inside their plush confines, yachts visiting this affluent port city are suspected to be ferrying drugs to and from Europe, the United States and the West Indies. At least six yachts have visited Vasco in the last three months. Their arrival has been as mysterious as their disappearance, says a Coast Guard official.

He explains that these vessels lie in wait in sleepy dockyards hugging the Zauri river estuary before heading out to sea, probably with their coveted contraband. ‘‘How else can one explain the sudden spurt in activity of these small but sophisticated boats, which are fitted with the latest navigational equipment? They circumnavigate the globe and berth in Goa for a few days,’’ points out a senior Coast Guard officer says. He is unable to explain why none has been searched or their crew caught red-handed.