As part of the run-up to its golden jubilee, the Eastern Naval Command has scheduled a series of activities spread over the next one year. It will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee Year in the form of ‘Swarn Varsh Samaroh ’ from April 1.
Established in 1968, the ENC is the largest geographical command of the Indian Armed Forces, extending from the Sunderbans in the North to the Gulf of Mannar in the South.
These activities aimed at showcasing the ‘Silent Service’ will provide an opportunity to local people to have closer interaction with the navy and for raise awareness among citizens.
The celebrations will start with a beach clean-up and plantation drive in the city on April 2. A maritime seminar is scheduled in August followed by the musical evening in October. The Jubilee Vizag-Navy Marathon will be held on November 12 followed by a Triathlon on December 17. The celebrations would conclude with a grand finale on March 1, 1918 when a special documentary on the ENC and Visakhapatnam would be released.
The beach clean-up and plantation drive will be observed on the Beach Road with the pledge “Striving for trash-free seas”. More than 4,000 naval personnel, including defence civilians, their families and cadets from the NCC and SCC, will participate in the event covering a majority of water-front areas of the city.
Begins with outpost
After the identification of Visakhapatnam as an important convoy assembly point for military operation in 1923, a small naval outpost was set up in December 1939. The outpost was formally established as a command on March 1, 1968 with Rear Admiral K.R. Nair appointed as its first Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief.
During the five decades of existence, the command has been transformed into a truly potent naval force and today boasts of the combined might of a strong and balanced blue water Eastern Fleet, a potent submarine arm and an omnipresent air arm, a versatile dockyard and various other outposts spread across the east coast.
