Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, Nov 12: The Ministry of Defence will embark on measures to enhance the operational capacity and capability of the tri-services Command of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Speaking to journalists at BJP Bhawan on Thursday, Mr Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister of India said that proper security in all the islands of the strategically located Andaman and Nicobar Islands is crucial for the security of these islands and the Defence Ministry is mulling over deployment of Frigates and Defence Warships in the Andaman and Nicobar Command.
“After taking over the charge of the Defence Ministry, I have been touring all Defence establishments in the country and the visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is aimed at obtaining first-hand information about the Andaman and Nicobar chain of islands. I’ve had meetings with the Lt. Governor, Member of Parliament and the Chief Secretary to review the concerns here and will take up the issues with the concerned Ministries for their early redressal,” he said.
The Defence Ministry is keen on expanding the airstrips at Shipur, Diglipur in North Andaman and Campbell Bay to enable landing of larger defence aircrafts.
While augmentation of defence infrastructure will be taken up on priority, preservation of the islands rich forest and marine wealth will be ensured.
Expansion of defence establishments will also be a boon for the civilian population as landing of passenger aircrafts in the remote islands will ease travel woes to a great extent.
Besides, the move will also boost the tourism industry significantly and increase tourist footfalls substantially in the years to come, said the Defence Minister.
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