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Countdown to military games begins

Staff Reporter

Southern Naval Command undertakes tree plantation drive

KOCHI: To mark the 100 days to go for the Military World Games, the Southern Naval Command undertook a tree plantation and beautification drive on Willingdon Island, Fort Kochi and Thevara on Saturday. The Games, scheduled in Hyderabad from October 14 to 21, is being held outside Europe for the first time. The previous events were in Rome (1995), Croatia (1999) and Italy (2003).

Naval personnel from INS Venduruthy planted saplings of flowering plants along the median from Thevara to Atlantis Junction and carried out beautification work along the railway embankment adjoining the Naval Base here. Rear Admiral Sunil Lanba, Chief of Staff of the Command, planted a sapling at the War Memorial on the Command premises to mark the occasion. At Fort Kochi, personnel of INS Dronacharya undertook a drive to add green cover to the area around the Parade Ground. V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, MLA, also participated in the drive.

A South India Car Rally, comprising 10 teams from the Army, Navy, Air Force and NCC, was received at the Naval Base by Captain N.N. Rao, Senior Officer, 1st Training Squadron. The rally was flagged off from Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday morning. The teams departed after a brief halt at the Base.

The rally is scheduled to transit through Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It will pass through Ernakulam, Thrissur, Coimbatore, Salem, Bangalore and Chittoor before joining up with the main rally at Cuddappah, to finish in Hyderabad. The participants are expected to cover a distance of 3,500 km over 18 days, before returning to Thiruvananthapuram. The Military World Games (MWG) is conducted by the International Military Sports Council, popularly known as CISM (Conseil International Du Sports Militaire).

CISM is an international sports association recognised by the International Olympic Committee and organises the games once in every four years. About 6000 participants from the armed forces of all nations participate in the events. The games involve 15 sports disciplines, which include military sports events such as military pentathlon, cross country, shooting, parachuting and individual/team sports events like football, handball, volleyball, triathlon, sailing, swimming, athletics, judo, boxing and wrestling.

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