Visakhapatnam will host PFR, MILAN in 2022: Eastern Naval Command chief

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Eastern Naval Command (ENC) will host the Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) in Visakhapatnam in March 2022. At the same time, the city will also host MILAN, which was cancelled in March due to Covid-19, according to ENC Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief Vice Admiral AK Jain.

Briefing newsmen here on Wednesday, the Vice Admiral said the city will be hosting two big events in 2022. He said the PFR is held once during the five-year tenure of the President of India. Ships from the ENC, the Western Naval Command and the Southern Naval Command along with ships of friendly nations will participate in the PFR, he said. 

The MILAN 2022 will witness greater participation from navies of various countries, the ENC’s FOC-in-C said. Previously, Vizag hosted the PFR in 2006 when Abdul Kalam was the President. The city hosted an international fleet review (IFR) in 2016. Vice Admiral Jain said in view of the COVID-19 crisis, the Navy Day activities have been toned down—the much-awaited operational demonstrations on the RK Beach, Navy marathon and visits to naval ships were sorely missed. 

However, illumination of ships at anchorage on December 4 and 5, coastal clean-up drive and blood donation camps are being organised. He said that the ENC was in the forefront of providing innovative solutions during the pandemic. 

A multi-feed oxygen manifold was designed by the Naval Dockyard, Vizag and and they were given to KGH and VIMS and other hospitals. He said that following a request from the district administration, a remote patient monitoring system was developed for undertaking non-contact-based parameter monitoring of patients and this was deployed at the VIMS, Vice Admiral Jain said.