Three-day coastal security exercise in Kochi from Thursday

Kochi: The Navy and other coastal security agencies will conduct a three-day coastal security exercise 'Sagar Kavach' from December 15 for Kerala and Lakshadweep islands.

The exercise is conducted half yearly with an objective to check coastal security mechanism and validate standard operating procedures, a Navy release said here.

The organisations participating in the exercise are the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Coastal Police, Police Special Branch, Intelligence Bureau, Customs, Department of Port, Department of Fisheries, Director General of Lighthouses and light ships and Fishing Community, it said.

Participants of the exercise will be divided into two teams -- Attack (Red) and Defence (Blue).

The Attack team will act as terrorists who will attempt to infiltrate into coastal areas, while the Defence team will establish coastal security surveillance to intercept and neutralise the infiltration attempts, it said.