Bhubaneswar, Sept. 16 (UDN): A joint coastal security exercise involving Odisha and West Bengal began on Wednesday, bringing multiple security and government agencies together to test their preparedness against potential threats emerging through the sea route.
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The Sagar Kavach exercise covers both maritime and coastal areas and is designed to assess surveillance, coordination and response mechanisms in the event of an attempted infiltration through waterways.
Security personnel are carrying out coordinated patrols and surveillance operations along the coastline as part of the multi-agency mock drill.
18 agencies join exercise
Around 18 Central and state government agencies are participating in the exercise, including the Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, Marine Police and CISF.
The Forest Department, Fisheries Department, Customs, district administration, Paradip Port and representatives of industrial establishments are also part of the exercise.
The participation of agencies with different responsibilities is intended to test how quickly information can be shared and how effectively they can coordinate during a coastal security incident.
Red and Blue teams simulate security threat
The exercise involves two groups — the Red Team and the Blue Team — with opposing roles.
The Red Team simulates potential infiltrators attempting to enter coastal areas from the sea and reach inland locations. As part of the scenario, the team may attempt to evade security personnel and reach sensitive or crowded areas.
The Blue Team, comprising the security and enforcement agencies, is tasked with detecting and intercepting the simulated infiltrators through coordinated surveillance and patrolling.
Second Sagar Kavach exercise of 2026
Wednesday’s drill is the second joint Sagar Kavach exercise of the year. Such exercises are conducted periodically to evaluate coastal security arrangements and improve coordination between agencies.
The drills gained greater importance following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, in which terrorists used the sea route to enter Mumbai.
The latest exercise is expected to help participating agencies identify gaps in existing security arrangements and improve their ability to respond to maritime and coastal threats.
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