UDUPI: Fishermen venturing out into the sea from Karnataka now have ‘Kadalu’ backing them.
Kota Srinivas Poojari, minister for fisheries released this app developed for the department of fisheries by Capulus Technologies here on Friday. Coastal security police conceptualised this mobile app which helps in keeping track of fishing boats in the sea and helps in search and rescue (SAR) operations, R Chethan, superintendent of police, CSP, said.
R Chethan in a tweet said the CSP intends to ensure that this app is installed and used by all coastal fishermen in the state. All departures and arrivals of a fishing journey needs to be submitted through the app, he said. For ease of access, the app is built with a simple interface with Kannada language support, the SP said, adding fishermen will get official alerts directly in their mobile phone related to fishing and getting into the sea.
From a security standpoint of view, all departure and arrival logs submitted will be available in the app as travel history, Chethan said. The need for an app has been felt for long and was mooted at a meeting that Poojari chaired with stakeholders at Mangaluru in October. Available on Google play store, this app is user friendly and designed for Android phones and works well on available network speeds offered by telecom companies.
Noting that the idea for the app was mooted around four months back, Chethan told TOI that the app will enable fishermen to send SOS alerts. “Mobile connectivity has been experienced up to 12-kms from the shore depending on the location of BTS close on shore,” he said. The department and CSP personnel will create awareness of the app at all fisheries harbour. In the interim, physical verification of fishermen venturing into sea will continue, he said.