Vishakhapatnam. 15 August 2020. On the occasion of 74th Independence Day, a Ceremonial Parade was held at the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) comprising of platoons of naval personnel drawn from various ships, submarines, establishments and Defence Security Corps inside Command Gymnasium today, 15 August 2020.
Vice Admiral Atul Kumar Jain PVSM, AVSM, VSM Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, ENC took the salute and inspected a 50 men Armed Guard. The Parade which was attended by all Flag Officers, Commanding Officers of various ships and establishments at Visakhapatnam. The parade concluded with the singing of the National Anthem by all present.
Vice Adm Jain conveyed good wishes and greetings to all personnel on parade and their families on the occasion of the 74th Independence Day and reiterated the need to remember the sacrifices of our brave warriors who fought for our freedom and those who laid down their lives in service of the motherland. Speaking on the occasion, the Commander-in-Chief (CinC) reminded everyone of the challenging times that the country is facing primarily due to the Coronavirus pandemic and the security situation.
He highlighted various administrative measures such as setting up Wellness Centers, Awareness Campaigns and the Quarantine Centers for the naval community had checked the spread of COVID amongst the naval community despite over 10,000 personnel movement reporting back after leave and training during the Unlock period. The CinC also added that the number of COVID cases are on a steep rise in the city and urged everyone to continue to take laid down preventive measures. He also assured all personnel, including the Defence Civilians and the Ex-Servicemen Community that all support will be provided especially for critical cases.
The C-in-C also highlighted the high tempo of operations by units of ENC that were -maintained despite constraints of COVID lockdown. He congratulated IN Ships Jalashwa, Airavat and Shakti for safely bringing back over 3500 Indian Nationals from many nations as part of Operation Samudra Setu during the COVID pandemic. He also appreciated the efforts of Naval Dockyard for their innovation for in-house deployment and manufacturing of Portable Multi-feed Oxygen Manifolds, Lung Resuscitators, Remote Monitoring Facility for ICU Patients, Containerised Isolation Chamber and preparation of masks and hand sanitisers.
The Commander-in-Chief also reminded the personnel on parade on the tense security situation especially in the backdrop of the standoff between Indian and Chinese armies in Ladakh. He added that with the changing security dynamics, maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is very vital and therefore, the responsibility of everyone in ENC to be prepared to face challenges from traditional and non-traditional asymmetric threats.
In a parallel event at the “Victory at Sea” War Memorial on the Beach Road this morning, Vice Admiral Kalidoss Srinivas AVSM, NM, VSM, Project Director Ship Building Centre Visakhapatnam placed a floral wreath and paid tributes to Veers who made the supreme sacrifice in defense of the Nation. A two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to the brave warriors.
