NEW DELHI, India (16 Jan 2004) -- An eight-day joint Indo-UK scuba diving expedition, comprising nine Indian and ten British defence personnel, concluded at Port Blair today. Conducted under the aegis of the Army Adventure Wing, the long scuba dives in unique blue waters at North Point, Talmugli, Passage Island, Snake Island, and Portland and Havbelock Islands gave the Army divers a rare experience, a Defence Ministry spokesman today here said. The expedition, led by the qualified paratrooper and expert Army diver Major Ashish Agarwal of the Indian Army with Captain Anil Malik, SM as Deputy Leader, comprised a mix of officers, junior commissioned officers (JCOs) and other ranks, including a lady officer from the British Army. | | Major J C Wakelin, of the British Army, was the co-leader of the joint expedition, with Majors M J Hughes, N J Wakelin and Captain J D Torbet as the other officers. A glittering flagging-in ceremony was held today at the completion of the expedition, with Lt Gen B S Thakur, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the tri-service Andaman and Nicobar Command, presiding the occasion. SOURCE - Deepika Global |
