Puri set for spectacular Navy Day celebration on Dec 4

Bhubaneswar: Preparations are in the last stage for the upcoming Navy Day celebrations at the Blue Flag Beach of Puri on December 4. Puri district Collector Siddharth Shankar Swain on Sunday said that on December 4, an operational Demo will be organised here on the occasion of Navy Day celebrations.

“The President of India and the Supreme Commander of Armed forces Droupadi Murmu will attend the event as the Chief Guest,” he said. The full-dress rehearsals will be held on Sunday and Monday while December 3 will be the rest day before the main event on December 4, he added.

“All the facilities have been provided to help the Indian Navy in the successful organisation of the event. A sufficient number of police forces have been deployed for the programme. Infrastructure has been developed on the open beaches so that people can experience the event all along the coast,” said Swain. He said LED displays, toilets and medical units will be deployed for the event on December 4.

Warning the tourists and spectators not to venture into water, Swain stated that additionally 300 lifeguards have been deployed to avoid any untoward incident during the grand programme. On the other hand, the Indian Navy officials asserted that people will experience a spectacular show on December 4.

“The event is going to be a spectacular show which you probably haven’t seen yet. Around 15 warships, and more than 40 aircraft including fixed-wing aircraft, fighter aircraft, and helicopters will be a part of the event. Besides, demonstrations by marine commandos and a large number of other activities will be displayed during the event,” said Commodore B Deepak Aneel, the Naval Officer-in-Charge of Odisha.

He said people will watch the capability and operational levels of the Indian Navy during the grand event on December 4. “Odisha is a very important State for us with 480 km of coastline. I will request all of you to enjoy the show and we are definitely going to be putting up a spectacular show,” added Aneel. He also said Landing Platform Dock, three destroyer ships, three Frigates, Corvettes and some smaller ships will be part of the event. Similarly, the Chetak helicopter, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), also known as the Dhruv, will perform various manoeuvres along the Puri coast on December 4. Notably, Navy Day is celebrated to commemorate Operation Trident which was the attack on the Karachi harbour during the Indo-Pakistan war on 4 December 4,1971.