Gujarat ports on alert after IB warning

Gandhinagar, July 1 : All 41 major and minor ports along Gujarat's 1,600-km coastline have been put on high alert following an Intelligence Bureau (IB) alert that terrorists could target maritime facilities on India's west coast.

'All the key ports along Gujarat's coast at Kandla, Mundra and Pipavav were already on high alert after the Mumbai terror attack (of Nov 26) but now even the smaller ports have been put under heavy security cover,' a senior Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) official said here Wednesday.

He said the various contingents of the Gujarat Marine Police along with the Coast Guard have been regularly patrolling along the state's coast dotted with 41 ports, among which Kandla is the biggest while there are 11 'intermediate ports' and 29 minor ports.

Authorities at all ports have been instructed to keep an eye on trucks arriving there, their cargo and people travelling in them, the official said.

More than 1,300 trucks arrive and leave the Kandla port every day, he added.