NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Navy Chief Admiral RK Dhowan today took stock of the relief efforts being undertaken by the Navy in the aftermath of cyclone Hudhud which hit the East coast of India, leaving behind a trail of destruction in its wake. Inaugurating the bi-annual Naval Commanders’ Conference here the Navy Chief instructed all ranks of the force to join hands in the face of the natural calamity and pledged their whole hearted support in mitigating the hardships caused by the severe cyclonic storm.
He said the Indian Navy has been designated as the lead agency to carry out relief and rescue operations codenamed ‘Op Lehar’ in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and will undertake operations with a whole Navy approach.
“The entire Navy will do its best to respond to the situation through the Eastern Naval Command, with the aim of not only attending to the needs of the naval base and naval personnel, but also the entire town of Visakhapatnam and its citizens,” Admiral Dhowan said.
The Admiral reviewed the progress of various activities undertaken by the Eastern Naval Command for providing relief assistance.
He was told that more than ten ships are ready to sail with relief material. Additionally, four more ships have been kept ready for sailing at short notice for relief operations. Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said in the next two days commanders would discuss the issues of operational relevance as also to identify capability gaps and review the future plans and activities of the Indian Navy.
Senior naval commanders will discuss the operational preparedness of the Navy on both eastern and western flanks of the coastlines of India, he said.
The issues relating to sustaining combat readiness, building capabilities for the future and addressing human resource challenges were also slated to be discussed. Amongst other issues, deliberations would also be held on the means to enhance Battle Space and Maritime Domain Awareness, review of progress made in strengthening coastal security, maintenance philosophy and quality of refits for ensuring combat effectiveness of platforms, infra-structure development and foreign cooperation initiatives. (UNI)
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