MP asks Centre to set up Coast Guard Academy in Mangaluru

Rajya Sabha member K.C. Ramamurthy of the Congress has urged the Centre to set up a Coast Guard Academy in Mangaluru.

Making a plea in the Upper House of the Parliament, he said the State has a 320 km coastal line and the academy would play multiple roles in defending the coastal belt of the State.

The demand has assumed significance in the wake of the death of Cafe Coffee Day entrepreneur V.G. Siddhartha in Mangaluru. Besides guarding the State’s coast, the academy would also help in search operations in the sea.

Strategic location

After the Mumbai attacks, the Centre had decided to strengthen the coast guard by tripling its assets, force and infrastructure. In pursuance of the decision, the State government sent a proposal for the setting up of the academy in Mangaluru as it is strategically located, Mr. Ramamurthy said in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

The academy is proposed to be developed on 160 acres. The high-powered committee of the State government has also cleared the proposal. Defence Ministry officials visited Mangaluru and inspected the site in 2017.

It had been two years since Defence Ministry officials visited the site. The proposal has not moved even an inch, the MP said in a note.