VISAKHAPATNAM: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of India’s victory in the 1971 war, the ‘Victory Flame’ of Swarnim Vijay Varsh was formally inducted at Eastern Naval Command (ENC) by Home Minister Mekathoti Sucharita and ENC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice-Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh at a ceremony held at ‘Victory at Sea’ Memorial on RK Beach here on Friday.
The ceremony commenced with the solemn wreath-laying by the commander-in-chief and the State home minister. A two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect to those who made the supreme sacrifice in the service to the nation.Later, the duo interacted with veterans, who shared their experiences of the 1971 war.
To commemorate the occasion, four victory flames were lit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the National War Memorial in New Delhi on December 16. The four victory flames commenced their journey in the four cardinal directions travelling across the country through the villages of the soldiers who were part of the Indo-Pakistan war. The Victory Flame for the South Cardinal was paraded through Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Kochi, Madurai and Chennai before reaching Visakhapatnam from Port Blair onboard INS Sumitra.
The Victory Flame will pass through several schools in the city and thereafter will commence its onward journey to Hyderabad passing through Rajahmundry, Vijayawada and Nalgonda. The Victory Flames from various parts of the country will converge at New Delhi on December 16, 2021.Sucharita said the State government will extend support to ex-servicemen. She said the Chief Minister is taking steps to provide self-employment opportunities to them.Tourism Minister Muttamsetti Srinivasa Rao said Vizag coast is key in the defence sector. Meanwhile, Sainik School at Korukonda has made arrangements to receive the Victory Flame on Saturday.