Navy clarifies over fishermen's allegations of harassment

KARWAR: The Indian Navy came out with a clarification against allegations by fishermen that the officials of Kadamba naval base are harassing fishermen in Karwar. Leaders of the fishermen's community had met the deputy commissioner of Uttara Kannada a few days back and alleged that navy personnel were harassing them.
In the clarification, the Navy said that the naval base at Karwar was sensitive and contained costly infrastructure and assets of the government of India.These need protection from anti-national elements that may infiltrate the base from the land as well as the sea.
There have been several intelligence inputs regarding infiltration from the sea. Therefore, the naval base undertakes round-the-clock patrolling of the naval coast. During patrolling, it is very important to check the identity of the boats and the crew that are close to the naval land. Boats and their crew with valid identity cards and boat registration papers are let go right away while those that do not have valid identity proof are handed over to police.
Naval personnel manning patrol boats are strictly instructed not to delay any boat that has the right documents. The naval authorities fully understand the requirements of the fishing community at Karwar and support all legal fishing activities in Karwar, the clarification said.