President Murmu to attend Navy Day celebrations in Kerala capital

Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Navy will on Wednesday carry out operational demonstrations at the Shangumugham Beach here as part of the Navy Day celebrations.

President Droupadi Murmu will be the chief guest at the event where 19 major war vessels, including India's indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, one submarine, four fast intervention boats, and 32 aircraft, both fighters and surveillance aircraft and helicopters, will demonstrate their prowess.

Murmu will arrive in the state capital at 4.20 pm and will be greeted with a guard of honor, official sources said.

She will attend the Navy Day celebrations and watch the naval exercises, after which she will go to the Lok Bhavan, the sources said.

The President will return to Delhi on Thursday morning, they said.

The Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd (TIAL), in an advisory, has said that traffic restrictions will be in place near terminal 1 and 2 of the aerodrome due to the Navy Day celebrations.

The restrictions will be in place from afternoon till night and may result in additional travel time to the airport for passengers, it said and requested travellers to take precautions.

Navy Day is held to commemorate the Indian Navy missile boats' attack on Karachi harbour during the 1971 war.

A naval officer on Tuesday said that the "mega event" will provide a unique opportunity to all the citizens to witness the Indian Navy's state-of-the-art platforms and multi-domain operations.