The Hindu : Kerala News : State to meet promises on Ezhimala

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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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Kerala

State to meet promises on Ezhimala

S. Anandan

Road to be made State highway; four railway over-bridges planned

Academy has a self-sufficient campus
Special emphasis on adventure sports

Ezhimala (Kannur district): While it is curtains up for the Naval Academy here, the State government is also pulling up its socks to deliver on a few promises made in the past.

First, the rutted approach roads to the academy from the Kannur and Payyannur sides that have been blacktopped ahead of the academy inauguration will be upgraded to State highway standards.

“Also in the offing is the construction of four rail over-bridges (three of them from the southern side) for easy passage of vehicles to the academy. Although the government has initiated steps for acquisition of land for the purpose, it is under litigation and is unlikely to materialise soon,” sources said.

On the campus, however, everything that is required to make the academy self-sufficient — from bank and fuel station to recreation and shopping centre — has been put in place. A state-of-the-art 64-bed medical facility, INHS Navjeevani, was opened last month.

As Rear Admiral M.P. Muralidharan, commandant of the academy, puts it: “With its dedication, the aspirations of the Navy for a world-class military training establishment and a centre for academic excellence will fructify. It will produce intellectual warriors and leaders for the 21st century and beyond.”

Besides academic and skill training, cadets are sure to get exposed to the best of sporting activities. An indoor swimming pool and a diving pool besides several indoor and outdoor basketball courts, tennis courts, squash courts, football fields and volleyball courts have been laid out for the all-round development of cadets.

Special emphasis has been placed on adventure sports too. Already, cadets undergoing the 20-week naval orientation course go trekking for three full days in the jungles. Called Camp Tenderfoot, this serious offbeat activity has been a hit with the trainees.

This apart, there are facilities for hiking, sailing expedition, boat-pulling competition, damage-control exercise, and sea swimming at the Ettikulam bay and Kalaripayattu, the martial art of the State (a team from a popular local Kalari sanghom stays on the campus).

Co-curricular activities will also include inter-squadron debates, snap talks, book reviews, dramatics, yoga, photography, and music. By 2013, when the first batch will pass out, the academy is to have a staggering cadet strength of 1,090 plus foreign trainees.

The faculty strength will be about 100.

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