New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) Defence Minister NirmalaSitharaman today visited the newly-developed Karwar naval basenear Karnataka, and issued instructions to expedite itsongoing infrastructure development.
Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba accompaniedSitharaman during the visit.
"The defence minister was apprised of the existingfacilities developed under Phase I. She also reviewed thestatus of ongoing/planned works under Phase 2A," the defenceministry said in a statement here.
It said Sitharaman directed the Navy for earlyaugmentation of the base.
Once the base is fully developed, it will be one of thelargest naval bases in Asia.
A meeting was also held to assess the status of releaseof payment of land compensation to land owners, the ministrysaid, adding Sitharaman directed that the pending casesrelating to land acquisition be processed on fast-track basis.
Sitharaman also visited the proposed site for the IndianCoast Guard Training Centre at Baikampady in Mangalore.
The government had cleared setting up of the traininginstitute earlier this month.
Sitharaman also reviewed the rescue operations conductedby the Coast Guard, Karnataka during Cyclone Ockhi. PTI MPBSMN.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.