the goan I network
VASCO
And, now, Parrikar has also managed to secure recognition to Goa’s main port in India’s naval history with the Navy’s next destroyer set to be named ‘INS Mormugao’, a move that has been hailed in the port town.
According to a Deccan Herald report, the INS Mormugao “will set sail from Mazgaon dock in Mumbai for sea trial on September 17, which is likely to continue for close to two years before the 7,300-tonne warship with Barak-8 long-range missiles is inducted into the Navy.”
The report stated that the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had cleared indigenous construction of a large number of guided missile destroyers and had planned to name them after state capitals like Kolkata and Chennai.
The UPA government later modified the scheme and had also incorporated coastal cities into the nomenclature. “As a result, the first three ships under the Project-15A were named as INS Kolkata, INS Kochi and INS Chennai. The first ship, INS Kolkata, was commissioned in August 2014.”
“In the next batch, four ships under Project-15B are planned at a cost of Rs 29,345 crore. The first one, INS Visakhapatnam, was launched in April 2015 and will be commissioned by 2018.”
“INS Mormugao is the next one in the line, to be followed by INS Paradip (representing Odisha), while the last ship in the series would be named after a coastal city in Gujarat,” the report added.
Prominent personalities in the port town have hailed the Defence Ministry’s move to name the Navy’s next destroyer ‘INS Mormugao’.
“It is not only a proud moment for us from the port town, but for residents of entire Mormugao taluka since a naval vessel is named after Mormugao. The taluka and port will now be known throughout the country and the world over as INS Mormugao will participate in naval exercises with navies of other countries,” said Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida
We have a naval base INS Mandovi named after our famous river and now the naval destroyer ship is being named INS Mormugao, he added.
Mormugao Municipal Council Chairperson Deepak Naik described it as a proud moment for the port town. “For the first time, a naval ship is named after the port and the taluka. This will be remembered in the history of Goa,” he said.
Mormugao Deputy Superintendent of Police Suchita Dessai also welcomed the move. “It is a proud moment for me especially because I was born and brought up in Mormugao constituency. It is a proud moment for every Goan as the port and taluka will now be known across India and around the world,” DySP Dessai said.
