Andhra Pradesh

Security tightened at SHAR, Vizag naval base

HYDERABAD: A security dragnet has been thrown around the seafront of Sriharikota rocket launching station (SHAR) near Sullurpet in Nellore district, to effectively tackle possible security risks from the Bay of Bengal.

The SHAR lies on an island in the mixed water spread of Pulicat Lake and the sea, facing the Bay of Bengal.

It houses the Satish Dhawan Space Centre too, besides a number of key facilities relating to India’s space programme. A top police official said SHAR could be targeted by terrorists as it symbolised India’s “compact intellectual material”. As such, additional forces were deployed for its safety and security, apart from industrial security force that is permanently posted there.

Speaking to The Hindu after Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy reviewed the law & order situation in the State here on Friday, the official said security had also been heightened at the Naval base in Visakhapatnam and all the ports lying along the State’s coastline.

Inland, a high alert was being maintained at airports, Reserve Bank of India facilities and Doordarshan and All India Radio stations, defence research establishments in Hyderabad, and other vital installations like telephone exchanges and power generation stations.

The official said instructions had been issued to the chief engineers concerned to step up vigilance at major irrigation projects.

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