Show over, thousands watch military might
Many get to see the naval supremacy of India
By; SVS, INN/Chennai, @infodeaofficial:
For T Kesavan, a third-year Mechanical Engineering student with a popular engineering college based in the outskirts of this main city it was an opportunity that he would not lose.
‘The moment we came to know that we can see the defense technology in real, which we normally get to see only in Hollywood or Bollywood movies we did not waste a moment,’ he said.
Many like him hurried in the early morning towards Thiruvidandai only to get a glimpse of the might of our armed forces. This has been one of the outcomes of the DefExpo 2018, the mega event that went on at Thiruvidandai from 11 to 14 April.
From the morning of last Saturday (14 April) individuals and student groups began thronging the venue in large numbers. Levels of curiosity were higher among the students in particular who were seen showing a keen interest in the defense technology.
For G Sushmita, a BTech student in electronics and her friend’s curiosity on how small and medium weapons are operated has motivated them to wait for 30 minutes at the entrance before gaining an entry into the venue.
The expo days have managed to be bright for small time business women like T Muniamma too who runs a mobile stall selling buttermilk and lemon soda on ECR. ‘I could sell about 30 to 40 glasses of buttermilk on East Coast Road from the mid-March onwards, thanks to the activity that picked pace at the exhibition site.’
“On a normal day, I sell about 20 to 25 glasses of buttermilk”, says she who hails from Vadanemmeli village. The visitors got to see Indian defense displaying its might with a live demonstration of its various aircraft, helicopter, battle tanks and submarines.
On the other hand, five indigenously made naval ships Sahyadri (stealth frigate), Kamorta (anti-submarine warfare corvette), Sumitra (offshore patrol vessel), Airavat (amphibious ship) and Kirch (missile corvette) turned center of attraction. About 71,410 people are said to have visited the naval vessels on 13, 14 and 15 April, thanks to the defense exposition.
Buses were kept ready at the Island Grounds and the public had to get into them and reach the venue where ships were anchored. A naval officer said on the first day they operated 22 buses, 32 buses on the second day and 48 buses on the third day. Heat did not dampen the spirit of G Ramkumar, a pawnbroker at Royapuram. ‘I came on Friday (13 April) with my friends. Totally satisfied with the visit I have come back on Sunday (15 April) along with my family.’
Another outcome has been the launch of scheme ‘Innovations for Defence Excellence’ during the exposition. This scheme aims at establishing innovation hubs across the nation that can churn out products that our armed forces can use and link them.
The chief aim of bringing out the scheme is to promote innovations and help establish ventures that can come out with products for our armed forces from this soil itself.
