Navy chief presents Naval gallantry, service awards

Visakhapatnam: Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba on Thursday conferred Gallantry and Service Awards to Navy personnel on behalf of the President Pranab Mukherjee at a ceremonial parade here.

The Naval Investiture Ceremony, an annual event for the Indian Navy, was held at Command Parade Ground, Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.

Among the awardees was Lt Commander Shishir Kumar, who went missing after a Torpedo Recovery Vessel (TRV) of the Indian Navy sank, and was awarded Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak posthumously.

Torpedo Recovery Vessel, TRV A-72 sank off Visakhapatnam on November 6, 2014.

Lt Cdr Vikash Kumar Narwal, Lt Cdr Neeraj Kumar, Veer Singh Chief Petty Officer Clearance Diver I and Rakesh Kumar Hull Artificer-4 (posthumously) were awarded Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) for their indomitable courage, conspicuous gallantry and outstanding professionalism, an official statement said.

Other awards presented included eight Nao Sena Medals for Devotion to Duty, sixteen Vishisht Seva Medals, Jeeven Rakshak Padak to Lt Cdr Kapil Kumar Shishodia and Neelkant Ramesh Harikantra LASCAR-1. 

Captain Ravi Dhir Medal was awarded to Aravind Marisamy Master Chief Air Artificer II and Lieutenant V.K. Jain Memorial Gold Medal was awarded to Commander Ravi Kumar Singh.

Speaking on the occasion, Admiral Lanba said the occasion is of special significance, as it allows formal acknowledgement of commendable gallantry as well as devotion to duty of the fellow shipmates.

He also thanked the family members of the award winners for their support to the service personnel in their performance of duty.

The Navy Chief also presented unit citation to two afloat units and six shore establishments who have delivered exceptional performance over the past one year.

These include Naval Ships Trikand, Sunayna, Air Squadron 312A, Command Clearance Diving Team, Mumbai, INS Eksila at Visakhapatnam, Naval Ship Repair Yard, Karwar, Base Victualling Yard, Kochi and INS Kardip in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Naval Dockyard, Mumbai and INS Shivaji at Lonavala, Maharastra were awarded with the 'CNS Trophy for Best Green Practices' for the environment friendly green initiatives.