INS Anjadip, the last of the Petya class ships of the Indian Navy which rendered glorious service in safeguarding the vast maritime frontiers of the country for over three decades, was decommissioned at a solemn ceremony held at the Naval Base, Visakhapatnam. The decommissioning ceremony was conducted with full service decorum and elan at the Naval Jetty. Vice Admiral OP Bansal, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command who was the chief guest on the occasion, inspected the ceremonial guard.

At the stroke of sunset, the colours which the ship had flown with pride through out her 31 years of service were brought down for the last time. With the sounding of the last post, the Paying off Pennant was lowered and a box containing the ships’s naval ensign was handed over to FOC-in-C by the last Commanding Officer of INS Anjadip, Cdr Siddhartha Panda, marking the decommissioning of the naval ship. The ENC Band played martial music befitting the occasion.

Anjadip was commissioned under the command of Capt RP Bhalla in the erstwhile USSR in December 1972. The contribution of Anjadip was immense to the western seaboards of the country. Her role in the anti-submarine warfare was particularly praiseworthy. Anjadip served initially under the operational control of Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command as a component of the 32nd Patrol Vessel Squadron. On March 1, 1979, she was transferred to Visakhapatnam. The ship has since remained a constituent of the Eastern Fleet and was re-designated as the senior ship of the 31st Patrol Vessel Squadron.

The Eastern Naval Command conducted ‘Day at Sea’ for nearly four hundred schoolchildren from thirty schools of Visakhapatnam. The schoolchildren accompanied by their teachers boarded four ships-INS Sharabh, INS Amba and mine sweepers class ships INS Cannanore and INS Khozikode and spent nearly six hours onboard. The event was aimed at providing first hand experience to young children of various facets of the naval operations.

A series of maritime and battle manoeuvres showcasing the operational capability of the ships were conducted at about 35 kms off Visakhapatnam Coast during the day. The naval exercises included helicopter operations at sea, search and rescue at sea by a Chetak helicopter and a close range anti-aircraft gun firing.

The children evinced keen interest in the naval exercises. They were given an audio and video presentation on various schemes and procedures for entry into the defence services. On this occasion, children staged an entertainment programme consisting of songs and dances. The event was organised by INS Virbahu, the depot ship of submarines at Visakhapatnam.

The Naval Public School at Visakhapatnam hosted a two-day Anchor Festival, Chrysalis. Seven Naval Public Schools from various naval establishments including those in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Goa and Lonavala competed for honours in the co-curricular and cultural events. The cultural festival aimed at showcasing the latent talents of children.

A colourful ‘butterfly’ dance highlighting the theme of the competition, Chrysalis, was held to depict the awesome transformation of a caterpillar from its cocoon stage to a butterfly stage, symbolising a child’s dormant talent bursting into multitudious dimensions. The competitions included anchor quiz, group musical presentation, solo dance, painting and photography.

Rear Admiral PS Byce, Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Eastern Naval Command who was the chief guest at valedictory function presented trophies and prizes to the participants.

Cmde Vineet Bakhshi took over the Command of INS Shivaji from Cmde Dinesh Prabhakar at an impressive ceremonial parade.

Cmde Vineet Bakhshi was Director, Indian Naval Ship Maintenance Authority, Mumbai before assuming the present charge. He served with the Indian Naval ships Trishul, Vikrant, Guldar, Kirpan and Delhi.

The 61st Defence Pension Adalat, first to be held in Mumbai, was inaugurated by Rear Admiral MP Taneja, Flag Officer Commanding, Maharashtra Naval Area. The adalat was organised under the aegis of Controller General of Defence Accounts by Principal CDA (Pension), Allahabad. Senior officers from Ministry of Defence, Army, Navy, Air Force, banks and treasuries attended the programme.

A total of 229 applications were screened at the adalat out of which 155 cases were settled. In addition, 50 fresh applications were received from pensioners.

The 47th Services Weightlifting Championship, 2003-04 was conducted at INS Valsura in Jamnagar. Outstanding weightlifters of all the three Services participated in the event. Many of the participants were of international repute and had earlier participated in Olympics, Afro-Asian and Commonwealth Games. They included Sep AM Zakir, Master Chief Petty Officer S Kabeer, Sub G Vadivalu and Chief Petty Officer CPR Sudhir Kumar. The championship was inaugurated by Air Cmde Amul Kapoor, AOC, 33 Wing, IAF at INS Valsura.

There was a keen contest among all the three Services. In 56-kg category Petty Officer V Murugan and Petty Officer R Ravichandran of Navy managed to outnumber other participants. In the 62-kg category, which witnessed a keen contest between Navy and Army (Green), Master Chief Petty Officer D Wilson won the gold. New services records were established in 69 and 77-kg categories by Chief Petty Officer Sudhir Kumar of Navy and Sep AM Zakir of Army (Red).

Brig OP Tomar, Brigade Commander, 31 Infantry Brigade, Jamnagar was the chief guest at the concluding ceremony.