CHENNAI: Madras high court has directed the Chennai commissioner of police to ascertain the feasibility of pressing into service drone cameras in search and rescue of people who drown after venturing into the sea at Marina.Pointing out the lack of coordination among several state and central govt agencies dedicated for such operations, a division bench of Justice A D Jagadish Chandra and Justice B Karthikeyan said on Monday, “Had there been a concerted and coordinated effort by both the central and state agencies, several lives could have been saved.”The bench passed the interim orders on a plea moved by K Gopal whose minor son went missing after venturing into the sea on July 5. Though two of his friends have been rescued, the status of the petitioner’s son is still uncertain.When the plea came up for hearing, in view of an earlier order, the Chennai commissioner of police filed a status report and submitted that 50 police personnel belonging to 12th battalion of the Tamil Nadu Special Police are deployed every day on a rotational basis at Marina Beach and seven jet skis are maintained in the Chennai division for safety of the public, who come to the beach.This apart, an off-road vehicle and two mini tractors are also utilised for patrolling and rescue operations; and two 12 tonne boats belonging to the Coastal Security Group (CSG), Chennai, are deployed for patrolling the coastal stretch from Pazhaverkadu to Neelankarai, the report said.Recording the submissions, the court said, “A holistic perusal of the status report reveals that there is no mention about the manner in which the agencies coordinate with one another for effective functioning to serve the purpose. We are also informed that there is a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of the National Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Authority, which has also issued a National Maritime Search and Rescue Plan in 2022.““We also directed the Chennai commissioner to provide the details about the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for saving the lives of those who venture into the sea and also the feasibility of pressing into service drone cameras,” the bench added and adjourned the hearing to Nov 20.
