NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy is in talks with the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) to construct a Navy memorial. Uttar Pradesh happens to send the maximum number of persons to the Armed Forces of India.
Vice Admiral Ajendra Bahadur Singh, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Naval Command said on Saturday, “We are in talks with the Uttar Pradesh Govt to build a Navy memorial. An MoU was also signed today.”
The MoU with the officials of UP was signed during the occasion of the decommissioning of the Indian Naval Ship Gomti in Mumbai. “It will help in keeping INS Gomati memories fresh in our minds,” said Admiral Singh
INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on 16 April 1988 by then Raksha Mantri, Shri KC Pant, at Mazagon Dock Ltd, Bombay.
The ship is named after a river in North India, which flows from Gomti Tal in Pilibhit to its confluence with the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh. The ship’s crest design depicts ‘Chhattar Manzil’ at Lucknow standing on the banks of the river Gomati, depicted in blue colour.
After serving the country for 34 years INS Gomati was decommissioned at sunset at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on 28 May 2022, in an elegant, solemn and poignant ceremony. The ship was paid off under the command of Captain Sudip Malik.
During her service, she participated in Operations Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. For her remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to national maritime security, she was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, once in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20.
As per the Indian Navy, “After her decommissioning, the ship's legacy will be kept alive in an open-air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the eponymous river Gomti in Lucknow where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics.”
An officer of the UP Government said the aim of setting up the memorial is to inspire more people to join the Indian Armed forces and the Indian Navy in particular.
The state of Uttar Pradesh stands first in the list of the States sending maximum number of uniformed personnel into the forces. With 1,67,557 soldiers, Uttar Pradesh tops the list of states contributing manpower to the Army. State of Punjab with the strength of 89,088, army personnel stand second. Maharashtra, with 87,835 soldiers ranks third followed by Rajasthan, with 79,481 soldiers.
Still, as per the data shared by the Ministry of Defence in December 2021 that the three services, Army, Navy and the Indian Air Force are facing a shortage of 9,362 officers and around 1.13 lakh soldiers, airmen and sailors.