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Mehta allays fears of radiation

— Photo: SUSHANTA PATRONOBISH

SAFETY TO THE FORE: Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta addresses a press meet in Kolkata on Saturday.

Kolkata: Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta on Saturday allayed fears of radiation from the ‘USS Nimitz,’ scheduled to dock at the Chennai port next week, saying all set procedures to check against radiation from the gigantic nuclear-powered aircraft carrier have been followed. “It is the Government of India’s job to see that the safety of the people is ensured. There are set procedures for it. These have been followed in this case and there is nothing to worry,” Admiral Mehta told a press conference here.

The Government had earlier issued a notification saying that monitoring against radiation has been done. The U.S. Navy also said it had done all safety checks. “There is also a radiation contingency plan in place,” Admiral Mehta said. Referring to the Kalpakkam nuclear power plant, he said, “If you can have a nuclear power plant in the country, what is wrong with a nuclear-powered ship berthing on our coasts?”

A Defence Ministry spokesman said in Delhi on June 27 that a standing environmental safety committee had cleared the anchorage of ‘USS Nimitz’ from the radiation hazard point of view after carrying out a detailed survey of the Chennai port. With a radiation safety contingency plan in place, experts from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have set up radiation monitoring laboratories on ships for frequent monitoring of water and air samples during the course of the three-day visit of the aircraft carrier. — PTI

INS Vikramaditya to join Navy by 2009

Staff Reporter reports:

The aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, Admiral Gorshkov, will join the services of the Indian Navy in the later part of 2009, Admiral Mehta, said.

“There has been a delay though I am not privy to any official Russian response on the matter,” said Admiral Mehta who was on his first visit to the city. “We were hoping it would be delivered by the end of the next year, but it seems unlikely now owing to certain imponderables involved in the rebuilding of a ship,” he said.

He said that the docking of the nuclear warship USS Nimitz at the Chennai port would be done according to the procedures laid down for the purpose and there would be proper monitoring to see that the ship poses no danger.

A total of 33 ships and 6 submarines are being built in various docks throughout the country, Admiral Mehta said. The submarines, which would be ready six to seven years down the line, would not lead to any incremental increase in the fleet as some of the older ones would be laid off by then, he said.

He also pointed out that a greater proportion of the ships that will be acquired in the next five to six years will be big ships, that is, a distinct bias for blue water ships. “Our area of operation is not just restricted to the Indian Ocean; we are also engaged in securing energy lines and sea lines of communication,” he said, adding that as economic linkages increase, the Navy also needs to protect areas of trade.

Admiral Mehta said the new naval academy for officers at Ezhimala in Kerala will start its full fledged course and induct the first batch of around 700 cadets by mid 2009.

An Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, involving the countries along the entire rim of the ocean, will also be held early next year where the chiefs of various navies will work out the methodologies of connectivity and joint exercises.

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