The Coast Guard has started looking for an alternative site to deploy its coastal radars in Andaman and Nicobar Islands after the Environment Ministry red-flagged its plan to put them up at Narcondam to save rare bird “hornbill”. The agency was planning to set up radars as part of a coastal security network to keep an eye on the activities along the coastline there. The search for an alternative place has already begun and the regional Coast Guard officials are working towards finding a strategic site for the purpose, Defence officials say. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had rejected the Defence Ministry proposal to set up a radar site and a power plant on the Narcondam island. The MoEF said the government had the option to set up offshore sites to install such radars but noted “there is no such option available for hornbill whose survival may get seriously threatened if establishment of proposed radar is allowed on the Narcondam island”. It had also stated that there were only around 350 of this rare species of birds. As part of the coastal security network, the Coast Guard is installing 46 radars. — PTI