GRSE stops use of camera mobile phones inside ship yard

In a bid to assure that no information related to warships get passed on, the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) has restricted the use of camera mobile phones inside its ship yard in Kolkata.

It may be recalled that two contractual workers of GRSE were arrested by the city police’s Special Task Force suspecting that they were ISI agents and they had passed on several information about certain warships of the Indian Nave, which were built in the yard of GRSE. 

Sources in the GRSE said that the use of high end mobile phones were restricted following a high level meeting. The meeting held a day after the arrest of the two persons.

Using a high end mobile phone, a person can take photograph even from far and it is just a matter of a second to send the photographs through e-mail or whatsapp. 

“Very less number of people uses basic phones now a day. Most use high end phones and passing on information using such phones is very easy. Moreover, it is also difficult for a lay man to understand whether anything g has been sent through such mobile phones. Thus it has been decided not to allow anyone to carry such mobile phones inside the premises,” an official said.

An enclosure place has been set up near the main gates of all the ship yards of the GRSE in Kolkata, where employees need to deposit their smart phones before entering the premises. 

Even if a person carries a basic phone but there is a camera installed in it, then also they need to deposit their mobile phones. While leaving the premises they will be allowed be to take away their mobile phones.

But employees will be allowed to carry basic phones, without camera, inside the premises.

Surveillance cameras are fitted at different points in the GRSE ship yards and there are personnel posted to monitor using the cameras whether anybody is using smart phone inside the premises.

Necessary steps will be taken if anybody is caught using such phones inside the GRSE premises.

Several other steps were also taken to ensure security inside the GRSE ship yards that include police verification of all employees. The verification of all the employees is already complete, sources said adding that everybody in the GRSE has co-operated in tightening up the security arrangements in the ship yards.

Rear Admiral A K Verma, chairman and managing director of GRSE, said: “Several steps have been taken to ensure security in GRSE and constant effort is on to maintain the level of security arrangements.”