Daily Bhaskar: New
Delhi: Wednesday, March 05, 2014.
Amid
raised concerned about the Indian navy warships in the wake of 10 huge mishaps
in the last six months, the Union Defence Ministry (navy) adopted a shocking
approach towards the accidents by justifying the purchase of old Russian
warship Admiral Gorshkov.
In a
response to the RTI query filed by activist Subhash Agrawal, the Defence
Ministry accepted that the INS Vikaramaditya is a renovated version of an old
Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov. It is saddening to know that the Russian
warship was so old that it was laid down in Dec 1978 and launched in Apr 1982,
reveals the RTI response, which is in exclusive possesion of Daily Bhaskar.
The
ministry justified their decision of buying outdated versions of the warships
as the “majority of the equipment, systems and hull structures could be
repaired while the electronic equipment could be renewed.” It was discovered
later that the hull structures, systems, cabling etc could not be repaired and
the only option was to replace them with the new ones. The additional work of replacing
the required parts was added to the project.
The
response given to the RTI also said that it had not been feasible “to buy a new
aircraft carrier commercially” and therefore the Admiral Gorshkov was
technically examined after it was repaired. The ministry noted that the
outdated Admiral Gorshkov would meet the Indian Navy's requirements. It termed
that the obsolete Russian warship was as good as a new air craft carrier.
DK
Joshi resigned from post of Navy Chief as he took the moral responsibilities of
the mishaps after the latest accident including INS Sindhuratna came in light.
Two officers lost their lives in the mishap and seven sailors were affected
severely due to smoke inhalation.
Though
the decision of stepping down as Navy Chief by Joshi is being considered as a
noble move by many, it is consequential to deeply analyze the issue and find
out the real culprits.
Firstly,
the step of going ahead with the purchase of outdated and obsolete submarines
and warships can’t be termed as a perfect move and then justifying the purchase
only reflects how irresponsible the concerned authorities can be.
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