Toxic gas leak on Indian Navy’s most modern stealth warship, INS Kolkata, at the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai, killed Commander Kuntal Wadhwa, a brilliant officer of the Indian Navy.
It was the second major naval accident inflicting the Indian Navy in less than a fortnight, after two officers lost their lives aboard INS Sindhuratna. What is of concern is that INS Kolkata mishap is the 12th accident involving the Indian Navy in less than a year. The biggest naval mishap occurred last August when INS Sindhurakshak, another of the Indian navy’s Russian made diesel-powered submarine, sank killing 18 personnel on board.
After the Sindhuratna incident, Navy Chief Admiral D K Joshi had resigned taking ‘moral responsibility’ over the series of accidents involving naval warships.
The bigger question is who will take the responsibility for the mishap this time. The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Defence Minister A K Antony. Even Finance Minister P Chidambaram suggested that ‘defence forces will learn a lesson and make sure that the money allotted to them is spent more wisely.
The navy and the Defence Ministry have ordered a probe into the incident. However, the incident would not affect the naval warship’s commissioning and the ship will be commissioned on time.
INS Kolkata is the first of the Kolkata-class guided-missile destroyers, the others being INS Kochi and INS Chennai. The Kolkata-class is India’s most advanced stealth guided-missile destroyers that can be armed with BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and anti-submarine weapons.
Have a news story, an interesting write up or simply a suggestion? Write to us at info@oneworldnews.in
