National News
INS Brahmaputra Accident: Is Indian Navy Losing Too Many Ships? How Can Such Tragedy Be Avoided?
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INS Brahmaputra incident at Mumbai dockyard, in which Indian Navy’s multirole frigate suffered damage due to fire onboard, has brought the situation surrounding Indian Navy ships to the fore. Even though the fire was brought under control, the ship lost some of its buoyancy and tilted on its left side, or port side as it is called in shipping and naval parlance.
INS Brahmaputra has joined an unfortunately long list of India’s naval assets damaged or destroyed by accidents. These ships and submarines, built to guard Indian coasts, became casualty of factors long thought to be preventable.
INS Brahmaputra: Major Facts
INS Brahmaputra is first indigenously built guided missile frigate of ‘Brahmaputra’ class. Indian Navy commissioned this ship in April 2000. Its staff includes 40 officers and 330 sailors.
The 125-metre-warship has displacement of 5300 tonnes and is capable of reaching speed of 30 knots. Its firepower includes surface-to-air, surface-to-surface missile in addition to medium-range guns, radars, sonars, anti-submarine rockets and much more. The ship also has capability to operate Seaking and Chetak helicopters from its deck.
It will indeed be a herculean task to make the tilted ship upright. Media reports say that Mumbai dock does not have this capability and India will have to hire foreign firms to make INS Brahmaputra straight again.
Any accident and loss of life is a setback to India and no such accidents should ideally take place. What can be done to prevent such setbacks?
“Have your processes in order. Learn from you mistakes,” said Shaurya Chakra winner Indian Navy Captain (Retired) Dilip Donde.
Indian Navy, like any other professional armed force, has strict procedures and protocols in place. Procedures are also in place for when the ship is undergoing repairs.
But is a ship more vulnerable when it is being repaired?
“Yes,” said Captain (Retd.) Sarabjeet Singh Parmar, who has commanded ships while they underwent repairs and refits.
“You can’t expect a ship to behave during a refit,” he said, adding that keeping a ship floating and upright is a challenging, delicate task during repairs.
An operational ship on mission in the sea is a perfectly functional combat unit. But during repairs, things can get tricky as for example, if a part is removed from right side (Starboard side), the ship becomes heavier on the right (Port side) and vice-versa.
It is critical at this stage to maintain an observe the list (leaning) of the ship. The list can be controlled up to a certain point but if it crosses a certain limit, there always is a chance of ship losing its balance in water and listing to one side completely, or even capsizing.
“All navies in the world face this problem,” said Captain (Retd.) Parmar, “It does not matter if it is Indian Navy or American or Chinese. These factors plague everyone.”
In his opinion, the fire on INS Brahmaputra was caused by short circuit or sparks from welding operations. Since fuel and ammunitions are removed from the ship during refit, these may not have been responsible for the fire following which the ship tilted to one side. By the time of publishing of this story, an enquiry into INS Brahmaputra incident was ordered by the Indian Navy. The cause of the fire will be announced after completion of the inquiry.
“Procedures and protocols are there for every function. If a welder is repairing part of the ship, a firefighter needs to be present beside him,” he said.
So what can be done to prevent such incidents?
“It should be checked if there was any error in following procedure,” said Captain (Retd.) Parmar.
The inquiry must take a look at the rules currently guiding repair functions and must be changed if required.
Since this is the third incident of an Indian Navy ship getting damaged at Mumbai, the headquarters of India’s Western Naval Command is facing a lot of flak. But the retired navy captain opined that it would be premature to blame the whole dock right now.
National News
J&K Heading For ‘Historic’ Assembly Elections Under National Flag & Constitution: Amit Shah
![J&K Heading For 'Historic' Assembly Elections Under National Flag & Constitution: Amit Shah](https://mumbaipress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Untitled-1-27.jpg)
Jammu, Sep 7: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday assured restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir after the assembly polls, which he said are the first under the national flag and the Constitution following the abrogation of Article 370 by the Modi government.
He accused the Congress-National Conference alliance of making attempts to revive the “old system”.
The NDA government will not allow the revival of terrorism, “autonomy”, and injustice with any community including Gujjars, Pahari, Bakerwals and Dalits who were granted reservation by the BJP dispensation, he said.
Shah is in Jammu on a two-day visit to boost the BJP’s election campaign for the three-phase assembly elections, beginning September 18.
He released the party’s manifesto on his first day of visit on Friday and also chaired two crucial meetings with senior leaders to discuss the campaign strategy.
“The coming elections in J-K are historic because after Independence, the polls are happening the first time under our national flag and Constitution, unlike in the past practice of two flags and two constitutions. We have only one prime minister from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and he is Modi,” the home minister told a BJP workers’ rally here on Saturday.
Taking a dig at the National Conference-Congress alliance, Shah alleged they are trying to push Jammu and Kashmir into the fire of terrorism once again when the government has brought down terror incidents in the union territory by 70 percent.
“The National Conference and the Congress will never be able to form a government in J-K, be confident about it,” Shah told the party workers, encouraging them to ensure the success of the BJP candidates to form the next government.
National News
Chandrababu Naidu Narrowly Escapes As Speeding Train Passes Inches Away From Him During Flood Inspection In Vijayawada
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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had a narrow escape while inspecting flood-affected areas in Vijayawada. On September 3, Naidu was on a small bridge evaluating the damage caused by recent floods when a speeding passenger train passed dangerously close to him.
Naidu, along with his security personnel and officials, was standing near the railing on a narrow platform when the train whizzed by. A video of the incident has gone viral, showing the Chief Minister and his team standing just inches away from the fast-moving train. Passengers aboard the train were seen waving at Naidu as it sped past. Fortunately, no one was injured during the incident.
Situation worsens due to heavy rains
Meanwhile, the flood situation in Andhra Pradesh has worsened due to heavy rains, claiming the lives of at least 32 people.
Vijayawada and surrounding areas have been particularly hard-hit, with thousands displaced from low-lying regions.
The NTR district, which encompasses Vijayawada, has suffered the most, with 24 fatalities. Other severely affected areas include Guntur, with seven deaths, and Palnadu, with one reported death.
More than 40,000 people have been moved to relief camps across the state as water levels continue to rise. Farmers, too, have borne the brunt of the flooding, with over 2.35 lakh farmers reporting significant crop damage due to the unrelenting rains.
In response to the crisis, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has donated Rs 5 crore for flood relief. His contribution is aimed at supporting recovery efforts across the state, with 400 panchayats set to receive Rs 1 lakh each.
“I will make sure these funds are directly deposited into the panchayats’ accounts, ensuring they are used for immediate flood recovery,” said Kalyan in a statement.
The Andhra Pradesh government continues to monitor the situation closely, working to provide relief and assistance to affected areas as rains persist across the region.
National News
PM Modi To Not Address UNGA Debate This Time, Jaishankar To Represent India
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be addressing United Nations General Assembly debate scheduled to take place later this year and India’s Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar will be representing India instead on September 28. PM Modi will be travelling to New York though, to attend a major community event at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island. The event is slated to take place on September 22. PM Modi will also be attending United Nations’ ‘Summit of the Future’ on September 22-23. This summit is focused on global co-operation for challenges that await humanity.
The general debate of the 79th UNGA session is scheduled to be held between September 24 and September 30. The summit will see major world leaders addressing the world. US President Joe Biden will address the assembly as well. This will be his last address to the UNGA as president of the United States as a new president will be elected in the presidential elections slated to take place in November this year. The contest will be between Republican Party nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Party nominee Kamala Harris.
Modi’s last address to the UNGA came in September 2021. He visited UN headquarters in June 2022.
The community event in Long Island has seen registration from over 24,000 Indian-Americans. PM Modi held his first such event at Madison Square Garden in 2014. This upcoming event marks the 10-year anniversary of the event.
That registrations for PM Modi’s event came through 590 community organisations in the US. There was a huge response from the tri-state area.
PM Modi’s community outreach events in the US have in past, drawn huge crowds. Last such event was ‘Howdy Modi’ which was held in Houston in 2019. The event had witnessed enthusiastic participation from Indian-Americans.
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