Deep sea fishermen in the State will soon receive satellite phones, NavIC receivers and NavTEX (Navigational Text messages) equipment to be procured at a cost of ?3.1 crore. Around 1,500 deep sea boats that will be formed into 80 clusters of 15 vessels each, will benefit. Funds sanctioned The State government recently accorded administrative and financial sanction for the same. Funds have been released from the State Disaster Response Fund. The equipment is expected to be made available in a few weeks time, said an official source in the Fisheries Department. An official explained that each cluster would get two satellite phones, procured from the State-run BSNL that will provide connectivity using Inmarsat. It is an all-weather instrument and connectivity will be available from anywhere in the globe, explained an official. A total of 160 satellite phones will be procured at a cost of ?1.68 crore for the boats. Similarly, each cluster will get three NavIC message receivers and two NavTEX receivers. The boats in the clusters will be able to communicate with each other through VHF sets. NavTEX will receive navigational warnings, urgent information for boats and weather forecasts from the India Meteorology Department and other data providing sources through transmitters installed by the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships, installed all along the coast. Warnings from system In addition to information received by NavTEX, the NavIC sets too would get warnings about weather events from ISRO’s regional satellite navigation system. An official explained that amendments to the Tamil Nadu Marine Fishing Regulation Act in 2016, had made it mandatory for fishing vessels to have surveillance and communication systems. These could be GPS, VHF, HF, other wireless and seamless communication and vessel tracking and monitoring system. Fishermen too had been clamouring for such equipment to provide connectivity to the shore, especially during disasters or major weather events, he added.