Swarna rekha, begins Customs fleet

PUNE, July 15: In recognition of the sensitive coastline controlled by the Customs Commisionerate of Pune, Swarnarekha, an 80 feet-long high speed boat, the first of a fleet to be handed over to the Customs, has been given to Pune.

“The first boat of the fleet has been given to us which lays emphasis on the sensitive coastline the Pune Commissionerate has to handle,” says GS Narang. The commissionerate which was founded on July 16, 1997, has jurisdiction over the entire western coast of Maharashtra and covers a coast line of 430 km from Bankot creek to Goa.

While the monsoon seas are too stormy to start using the boat on a regular basis, Narang confides that it was brought to Ratnagiri from Mumbai 20 days back and will be put in the water after the rainy season gets over.

After the Mumbai blasts, joint sea patrolling of the Police, Navy and Customs forces has been a regular feature in the coastal waters. In the changing political atmosphere, the pattern of smuggling has also changed from gold and silver to arms, ammunition and RDX, making the task tougher for the Customs cell.