India has begun building its second nuclear submarine at a classified facility in Visakhapatnam. Top sources told this newspaper that the keel has been laid and initial work is in full swing.
The project, launched just 24 months after the first nuclear submarine, INS Arihant, was commissioned, underlines the great strides the programme has made, sources said. “The second programme took far lesser time than Arihant to reach the shipyard from the drawing board. This time we had a clear plan and we had learned a lot from our mistakes,’’ sources said.
Though the exact details of the project’s progress are not available, it is learned that fabrication of the hull and body has begun. The reactor has been fabricated with the help of Russia.
The electronics and other systems are all indigenous. “Our DRDO laboratories have come up with inventions that are world-class. We don’t have to depend on anyone for sonar and such systems,” sources said.
The project is expected to be ready for sea trials by 2015. By that time India would have the Russian submarine on lease and INS Arihant deployed.
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Retd colonel held for boy murder
V.P. Raghu
Chennai
July 9: A retired Army colonel has been arrested for allegedly shooting slum-boy Dilshan (13) dead on July 3 when he was picking fruit inside the officers’ quarters near Island Grounds in Chennai, sources said.
The police sources identified the former officer as Ramarajan, who retired a couple of months ago.