Coast Guard DG on Gujarat visit, to chair meetings on pollution response, oil spill

Ahmedabad, Nov 22 (PTI) Director General of Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Rakesh Pal is on a Gujarat visit, where he will chair meetings at Vadinar in Jamnagar district ahead of a marine spill preparedness exercise, it was stated on Wednesday.

He will chair meetings ahead of the National Pollution Response Exercise (NATPOLREX), aimed at enhancing the response capability of stakeholders in marine spills, to be carried in the sea off the Vadinar coast on November 25, said an official release.

'Rakesh Pal, Director General, Indian Coast Guard, is on a four-day visit to the ICG, North Western Region, for chairing meetings of National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOS DCP) and NATPOLREX,' said a release by the office of the defence PRO for Gujarat.

The headquarters of ICG's North West Region is in Gujarat's capital Gandhinagar. The region covers the entire coastline from Sethwara Bet, an island off the coast of Kutch, to Umargam in south Gujarat, according to the organisation's website.

The sea exercises for NATPOLREX will be carried out off the Vadinar coast wherein practical simulated exercises will be conducted by ships and aircraft, said the release.

'The Director General will chair the meetings at Vadinar that will see participation of senior government officials, various stakeholders from across India and more than 25 representatives from foreign countries,' it said.

Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft will also take part in the exercise along with other stakeholders like oil handling agencies such as Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance and Nayara, among others, said the release.

The meetings ahead of the exercise have been planned considering the amount of oil handled by ports in the Gulf of Kutch, it added. PTI PJT PD RSY