Under the aegis of “aid to civil authorities”, the Indian Army’s Southern Command in Pune undertook the operation “Visphotak Mukt Bandargah” to ensure a safe and secure environment in civil society.
According to the government’s release, the operation involved the disposal of 1,600 metric tonnes of unexploded ordnance that had possibly been collected inadvertently by some factories and steel scrapyards over the past few years at multiple locations in Mumbai, Gujarat, Kanpur, Jaipur and Jodhpur.
The Indian Army launched the operation on the directions of the Ministry of Defence to ensure a safe environment for all citizens settled in and around the identified locations.
A special bomb disposal team from Central Ammunition Depot, Pulgaon was deputed by the Army and dispatched to multiple locations for the survey, segregation and disposal of unexploded ordnance.
The explosives were carried by the Army special team to safe locations outside the respective city limits and disposed off safely in a phased manner.
In Mumbai alone, over 8 lakh kgs of Unidentified Explosive Object (UXO) with a total explosive content of over 2,000 kgs of RDX/ TNT was disposed by the bomb disposal team in the recent past.
Earlier in March, a similar operation was conducted by Southern Command at Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu where unexploded ordnance was safely disposed thus ensuring a safe environment for all citizens in and around Gummidepoondi, 43 km from Chennai. (ANI)
