Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Army displays its assault prowess

— Photo: S. Mahinsha

Under seige: Soldiers of the Madras Regiment staging a mock capture of the Shanghumughom beach as part of the Army Mela organised here on Sunday.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four powerful explosions rocked the Shangumughom beach on Sunday evening, interspersed by the signature staccato of machine guns from two bunkers dug on the beach. From among two ships that rolled and pitched in the choppy waters, eight boats bearing heavily armed soldiers raced to the shore.

Even as the soldiers leapt from their boats and prepared for an assault on the beach, two Infantry Combat Vehicles roared in from either side of the beach and disgorged another group of soldiers who inched their way to the bunkers. At a signal, the soldiers rose as a man and with full-throated war cries, bayonet-charged the bunkers to neutralise them.

About 70 men of the Madras Regiment, Pangode brigade, of the Indian Army thus ‘captured’ the Shangumughom beach.

This mock beach landing proved to be the riveting climax of the Army Mela organised here. While the machine gun fire was supposed to be from ‘enemy bunkers’ on the beach, the ground-shaking explosions were the result of a simulated bombing of the beach by combat aircraft and Naval vessels to pave way for the assault teams.

The landing crafts that ferried the soldiers to the beach were Gemini boats belonging to the Indian Coast Guard, which had also deployed its ships ‘Durgabai Deshmukh’ and ‘Varun’ for the exercise.

The beach-landing was preceded by a skydiving performance by six paratroopers of the Army skydiving team. After a freefall from a helicopter that circled at 6,000 feet, the divers performed various manoeuvres before swooping down on the beach. Each diver was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the hundreds of people who had gathered on the beach. Sunday’s show began with a ‘slithering operation’ in which the Army demonstrated how troops can be delivered quickly and in numbers to a combat area with the help of helicopters. The slithering from the copter is done using special synthetic ropes. Soon after, an MI-8 helicopter of the Southern Air Command came in low over the waters to ‘rescue’ a soldier from the sea.

The crowd watched with bated breath as a hook was lowered to the soldier. Moments later, a cheer rose from the crowd as the soldier was winched up to the safety of the copter.

The mela ended on a musical note with a symphony orchestra of Army bands led by Lt. Vimal Joshi of the Southern Army Command. Among the songs rendered by the bands was ‘Greensleeves,’ the lyrics of which are believed to be written by Henry VIII of England. Governor R.S. Gavai, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, the head of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma, Lt. General Noble Thamburaj of the Southern Army Command, Adjutant-General Lt. General Thomas Mathew, General Officer Commanding Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Major General E.J. Kochekkan and Pangode Station Commander Brigadier Cherish Mathson were among those who were present.

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