The Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy suffered extensive damage due to very severe cyclonic storm Hudhud. In the last two weeks the officers and sailors have worked shoulder-to-shoulder in the true spirit of the uniform to restore essential services such as road connectivity, water and electricity, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R.K. Dhowan said.
Addressing mediapersons after launching sapling plantation drive in the Eastern Naval Command here on Wednesday, he said it was too early to estimate the actual extent of losses suffered due to the Cyclone by the Indian Navy.
Restoration of basic amenities like road connectivity, electricity and water was the top priority and this has been done in the last 15 days since the cyclone receded on October 12, he said. The repairs and restoration of the properties under different departments in the ENC would be taken up based on prioritisation, he said.
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Interacting with the officers, sailors and defence civilians of the ENC, the Admiral complimented them for high-level preparedness prior to and during the cyclone, resulting in minimum damage to naval assets, including ships, submarines and aircraft. There was no damage to the strategic assets of the Indian Navy, including ships, submarines and aircraft, he said.
He lauded the unstinted efforts of the officers and personnel of Naval Air Station INS Dega for resuming air operations in less than 24 hours of the calamity and making available the runway for emergency flights including the special flight of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, and others airlifting relief material to Visakhapatnam from different parts of the country.
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The Navy did not foresee threat from natural calamities to the Naval Alternate Operational Base coming up near here as a proper study of the threat perception from climate and other sources had been conducted before the project was taken up, Admiral Dhowan said.
Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Satish Soni was present.