The Indian Navy kick-started the commemoration of Operation Vijay with a series of events in the city.
Events to observe the 20th anniversary of the Kargil war will conclude on July 27, when warships, INS Chennai and INS Mumbai , will be kept open to the public for viewing.
On July 20 and 21, the Material Organisation and INS Trata of Indian Navy’s Western Naval Command set up pavilions at malls in Kurla and Lower Parel respectively to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas. The pavilion showcased the valour of the armed forces as well as the Indian Navy — the combat ready force for national security.
The pavilion at Kurla consisted of an artistic tableau of warships in the Arabian Sea, developed by the Material Organisation (Mumbai)’s technical staff. A large number of visitors witnessed the in-house artwork and took pictures of the traditional sand art, which depicted portraits of Kargil war heroes.
At Lower Parel, the event was depicted through posters and motivational movies. The naval band regaled the audience by playing a mix of martial and popular tunes to evoke the nationalistic fervour in the listeners. In addition, there were ‘Selfie Points’ that depicted Kargil’s hilly terrain, a medium machine gun model inside a bunker, and several shoulder-launched missiles.
“The pavilion generated lot of footfall in the malls despite inclement weather. Indian Navy personnel interacted with the visitors and apprised them about the critical role the Navy played during the conflict. They also guided people about the varying entries for officers and sailors by distributing brochures and posters about the Navy,” a defence spokesperson said.
On July 26, the Navy will organise a wreath-laying ceremony at Shaheed Smarak in Colaba, where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will be present. On July 26, INS Chennai and INS Mumbai will be kept open for schoolchildren. On July 27, it will remain open for the general public from 11 a.m. The place of entry will be the Naval Dockyard’s Tiger Gate, near Ballard Pier.
Naval officials said they expect a massive turnout in Mumbai given that on July 20, nearly 6,900 people, including schoolchildren, women and senior citizens visited INS Vikramaditya and INS Suvarna , an offshore patrolling vessel at Karnataka’s Karwar Naval Base, INS Kadamba .
