Paradip: A ‘Day-at-Sea’ for Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly was organised onboard ships of the Eastern Fleet of Indian Navy off Paradip today. As many as 90 MLAs, an MP along with officials from the State and District Administration embarked four major combatant ships of the Eastern Fleet under the command of Rear Admiral Sanjay Vatsayan, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet.
The event was organised by the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) as part of 50 glorious years of victory of the 1971 Indo-Pak War celebrations and aimed to introduce the maritime domain to the peoples’ representatives of Odisha.
The distinguished guests embarked onboard ships included Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro, Deputy Speaker Rajnikant Singh, Leader of the Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik and Ministers. The Naval Officer-in-Charge (Odisha) was also in attendance.
The day-long event witnessed participation of IN ships — Jalashwa, Shakti, Shivalik, and Sahyadri — collectively demonstrating the capability to undertake a wide spectrum of maritime operations ranging from benign roles such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions to the entire ambit of maritime conflict. Two of these ships — Shivalik and Sahyadri — have been designed and constructed indigenously, showcasing the warship building capability of the nation.
The Day-at-Sea included live demonstrations on weapon firings, combat drills, joint maneuvers, maritime interdiction, replenishment at sea, naval aviation and search and rescue operations (SAR). The event aimed to provide the distinguished guests a closer glimpse of the roles and operations of the Indian Navy whilst concurrently highlighting the importance of Blue Economy and challenges of the maritime domain, both at and from the seas.
The event also holds significance considering the impetus being given to developing port facilities by the state including inland ports and associated infrastructure under the aegis of Project Sagarmala.
During the event, the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet highlighted the initiatives by the Indian Navy in working tandem with the State Administration to enhance awareness of the general populace towards coastal security. He expressed confidence that close interaction between the Indian Navy, state administration and all stakeholders in the maritime domain would pave way towards enhancing the efforts for securing Indian coast.