Unveiling the Platinum Jubilee plaque, plantation of saplings by former commanding officers, cutting of a special cake and release of a Special First Day Cover by the Postal Department marked the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of INS Circars, the first Naval establishment in Visakhapatnam, here on Friday.
Post Master General of Visakhapatnam Sharda Sampath released the special First Day Cover brought out by the Postal Department to mark the occasion in the presence of Commodore Saleem M. Anwer, the present Commanding Officer.
Director of Postal Services Upender spoke.
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Commodore K.P. Gopal Rao, former CO INS Circars, unveiled a plaque and later planted saplings along with some former COs. There was bonhomie among the retired COs and officers as they recalled their ‘golden days’ with nostalgia. They later posed for group photographs with the present officers and men of the unit.
Commodore Gopal Rao, Commanding Officer from January 3, 1974 to January 16, 1976, recalled the historic day on December 4, 1971, when the Indian Navy attacked the Karachi Harbour. “We had to do lot of strategic planning and move our ships at economical speed as going at high speed would result in high fuel consumption and running out of fuel. There was the threat from Pakistan submarines and aircraft. Three days later, we had launched an attack on oil tanks at Karachi,” he said.
Commodore Saleem M. Anwer recalled how the Naval establishment had a humble beginning in a single building near the present Visakhapatnam Port on December 12, 1939. It grew from strength to strength and was christened HMIS Circars during the British rule in 1942 and was re-christened INS Circars, post Independence.
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The Depot Ship (as it is technically called) used to provide operational, training, administrative and logistics support but the operational and training wings were de-linked subsequently.