Kalam Does It Again!

President APJ Abdul Kalam is set to create history on Monday by becoming India's first head of state to undertake an undersea sortie. The President would be travelling on the INS Sindhurakshak, a Russian-origin kilo class submarine, for a duration of three and a half hours, a naval spokesman said here. "He would also be having lunch with crew members on the submarine," official sources said.The President would be briefed on the intricacies of submarine operations on board the craft.

Kalam had previously visited a submarine in the harbour when he was scientific advisor to the defence ministry, the naval spokesman said. Incidentally, Former Defence Minister George Fernandes had spent a night underwater in the INS Sindhuveer submarine during his visit to the Eastern Naval Command centre here in May 2003.

In 1988, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had also visited nuclear submarine INS Chakra at Visakhapatnam. Kalam's submarine trip comes a day after he undertook a Presidential review of the country's Naval fleet this morning. He had a tightly-packed schedule for the 2006 Presidential Fleet Review which originally left him no time to undertake the undersea sortie, the naval spokesman said.

However, the trip was made part of the itinerary in accordance to Kalam's wishes, he said. The INS Sindhurakshak would go down to the depth of 40 metres, the naval spokesman said. The submarine, which usually accommodates some 60 crew, will be carrying eight additional passengers - including Kalam and members of his entourage.

Eastern Naval Command Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral Sureesh Mehta will also be accompanying the President on the trip. The submarine would be accompanied by a destroyer ship which will be tracked by the submarine for a simulated torpedo attack.Instead of a real torpedo, the submarine would let fly a dummy water shot at the ship to demonstrate the attacking capabilities of the craft, the naval spokesman said.

(source: DNAIndia.com)