Imphal, February 16 2009: After Hovercraft it is now armed speed boat to be utilised for flushing underground cadres from Loktak Lake and the surrounding areas.

The decks have been cleared for the State police to be equipped with the state of the art armed speed boat used by the Coast Guard and the Army to flush out militants holed up in Loktak Lake and the surrounding areas.

The new initiative has been taken up as sanitising Loktak Lake has become the top agenda of the State Government.

Speaking to The Sangai Express a reliable source said that following a green signal from the Union Home Ministry the process of purchasing the speed boat has started to primarily flush out militants from Loktak Lake and the surrounding areas.

Stating that a clear cut instruction was issued by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram during his recent visit to Imphal to take up all possible measures to rein in the militants, the source said that the State Government mooted the proposal of procuring the speed boats.

During his visit here, the Union Home Minister was categorical in stating that extortions by militant groups need to be checked.

To procure the speed boats, the State Government has despatched the SP of Bishnupur police K Jayenta and OC of Bishnupur police commando Sudhir to Kochi in Kerela to assess the speed boats, said the source.

The speed boats will be assessed by the State police team as well as by personnel from the Coast Guard and the BSF, said the source and added that a minute study will be conducted to see whether the speed boat can be used on Loktak Lake.

The State police team presently at Kochi along with officers from the Coast Guard and the BSF will also inspect three Hovercrafts.

Each Hovercraft will have the capacity to seat 5 to 10 people.

The source said that the decision to acquire the speed boats and the relatively smaller Hovercraft was taken because it will be more convenient at Loktak Lake.

Towards acquiring the three Hovercrafts a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta and attended by the State Additional Chief Secretary DS Poonia, DGP Y Joykumar and officers from the Water Wing of the BSF and Coast Guard was held at Delhi last month.

To flush out militants from Loktak Lake as well as to save it from further degradation, the State Government has already finalised the recruitment process of the Loktak Lake Protection Force.

Moreover five sites have been identified to station the personnel.

The State Cabinet had also earlier instructed the DGP to open a Special Cell to check the activities of militants.

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