Describing the Indian Navy as “the biggest guarantee of peace” in the entire Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including the Bay of Bengal, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday stressed the need to continuously empower the navy in view of the ever-growing global interest in the IOR.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Very Low Frequency (VLF) Station, in Vikarabad on Tuesday. (ANI) {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}}
Speaking after laying the foundation stone for a Very Low Frequency (VLF) Naval Station in Damagundam forest area of Vikarabad district in Telangana, Singh cautioned the neighbouring countries that share maritime boundaries with India, saying maritime security is a collective effort and inviting “outside forces” to the doorstep would dent efforts for unity.
“We have emerged as a first responder and a preferred security partner in the IOR. In order to secure our commercial and security interests, India must possess advanced platforms and a strong communication system,” he said, emphasising that maintaining peace in the IOR, including the Bay of Bengal, should be the country’s top priority.
The high-tech VLF station in Pudur block — spreading across 2,900 acres to be built at a cost of ₹3,200 crore — once operational, would not just be a military establishment, but a strategic asset of national importance, he said.
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Allaying concerns about the impact of the project on the environment, Singh said: “Sustainable development is a priority, and we are ensuring that this project will not harm the environment.”
The upcoming station in Vikarabad is the Navy’s second VLF communication transmission station in the country after INS Kattabomman Radar Station at Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu.
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy pointed out that the allotment of land and fund for the project was done during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government in 2017. “We have only expedited the project as per the request of the Centre,” he added.
Meanwhile, BRS working president KT Rama Rao opposed the VLF project, saying it would affect wildlife due to radiation. “It will damage the entire ecosystem due to destruction of a vast extent of forest cover. It will also affect the rainfall pattern in the region,” he said in a statement.
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Several environmentalists, under the banner of Damagudam forest protection committee, have been opposing the VLF project, claiming it will not only destroy the green cover in the area but also cause threat to the local flora fauna.
“Damagudam falls in the Anantagiri hill range, which is the mouth of River Musi, the tributary of Krishna. It was on this river that Osman Sagar reservoir was built on the outskirts of Hyderabad, which has been a drinking water source for over a century,” noted environmentalist Prof K Purushottam Reddy said, adding the river water could be affected by the radiation from the radar station.
He said the committee was not opposed to the Navy project but only its location in the forest area that has over 1.2 million trees.
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