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When the Navy’s Operation Chutney evicted Portugal from Anjadiv | Goa News – Times of India

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PANAJI: While the Indian Army played a major role in Operation Vijay, which culminated in Goa’s Liberation on December 19, 1961, the two days of action were the first taste of combat for the Indian Navy post-independence.
About to come into its own, the Navy decided to dish out some strong lessons to the Portuguese. It started with Operation Chutney, which began as a surveillance patrol off Goa’s coast, but also helped prepare naval forces for an all-out attack on Anjadiv Island.
The attack on the Portuguese garrison on the island, which is located off the coast of Canacona, was necessitated after Portuguese soldiers resorted to unprovoked firing on Indian fishing vessels and a steamship, Sabarmati.
“The Navy’s role in Goa’s Liberation saw the force receiving its first Kirti Chakra,” said Commodore Srikant Kesnur in an article for a naval journal.
Rear Admiral Arun Auditto and Commander Noel Kelman earned gallantry awards for their role in evicting the Portuguese from Anjadiv, but Kelman’s heroics helped flush out the Portuguese from their fortified positions. But more of this later.
On December 1, as India finalised its ground assault plan, the Navy began a surveillance and patrolling exercise deploying two frigates, INS Betwa and INS Beas, to patrol 13km off Goa’s coast. Operation Chutney was on.
Based on intelligence gathered by the INS Betwa and INS Beas, the armed forces fine tuned Operation Vijay. The Indian Army would launch a ground attack while the naval task force was given the mission to capture Anjadiv, providing fire support and blockading the entire Goan coast.
The capture of Anjadiv was considered the primary task, says Rear Admiral Satyindra Singh in the book Blueprint to Bluewater.
The operation to capture Anjadiv was carried out by sending landing parties from INS Trishul and INS Mysore. Rear Admiral Arun Auditto was the officer-in-charge of the naval landing party as a young lieutenant.
“I took charge of the first wave of the assault party from Trishul, and we went peacefully towards the beach, and I began to believe that ‘surrender business’ was indeed true,” recounts Auditto, now 86. “We landed at the beach, took position around the beach and the boats were sent back to bring the second wave.”
Fifteen minutes into the assault, around 7.45am, as the second wave of the landing party was approaching Anjadiv, a Portuguese gun-post opened fire.
“Suddenly, all hell broke loose as sprays of machine-gun bullets opened up on the boat. Kelman, with great presence of mind, continued towards the beach, zigzagging the boat to counter the accuracy of the machine-gun fire. A few minutes later, by the time the boat beached, it had been riddled with bullets, three of his sailors were killed and he himself took two bullets, in both his legs,” said Auditto, who resides in Mumbai with his family.
For his heroics, Kelman was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, second class, now called the Kirti Chakra. “He was the first naval officer to win a gallantry award in post-Independence India,” said Kesnur.
After the parties from Trishul and Mysore had withdrawn to the beach, the Navy bombarded the island, forcing the Portuguese to surrender. Auditto’s landing party was instructed to take the prisoners of war and bring them on board the Mysore in boats.
The Indian Navy’s role saw the Indian tricolour was hoisted on top of a flagstaff on the island on December 18 afternoon, a day before Portuguese governor general Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva signed the instrument of surrender.

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Broke Swiggy guy walks 3 km to deliver food, Social media helps him find better job. Heartwarming story is viral

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Social media can be a wondrous place at times. While on most days, its ugly face is on display, on days like today, it sets examples of the power of kindness. In a social media post, a LinkedIn user shared how a delivery executive, in need of money and a better job, bagged one after the users on the platform came together to help the person out.

Priyanshi Chandel, Marketing Manager at tech company Flash, shared an incident about a Swiggy delivery agent who had come to deliver food at her residence. When she asked the late and out-of-breath delivery person, identified by her as Sahil Singh, about what happened, he told her that he had no transport and had to walk 3 km to deliver the order.

He also said that he was out of money and had nothing left to pay his landlord too. Singh told her that he was not looking for money from her but requested her to help him bag a job. He said that he had a degree in Electrical and Communication Engineering, and had worked with Byju’s and Ninjacart before. He had to move back to Jammu during the pandemic.

“I have not eaten for a week, just drinking water and tea to get by. I am not asking for anything, please if you can find me a job, I used to make 25k before, I am 30 years old, my parents are getting old and I can’t keep asking for money from them (sic),” Chandel quoted saying.

She also shared his marksheets and contact number for people to help. His details shared show that he is a 2018 BTech graduate from Mewar University, and completed his schooling from the Jammu and Kashmir state board.

After she shared the details, the comments section was filled with people who stepped up to help. While someone recharged his Yulu account so that he did not have to walk around to deliver food, someone offered a place to stay. Many offered to help him with his applications, while some offered jobs too.

Chandel, later on put an update on the post, and said that he received a job.

However, so far it is unclear what job he has received.

2023 has so far been a year of job losses, an eventual outcome of the pandemic and increased hiring by tech companies. For instance, the SSC MTS 2023 recruitment exam that took place in Uttar Pradesh in May saw over 55 lakh applications for Group D jobs. Numerous candidates who applied for positions such as peon, watchman, gardener had educational backgrounds like BTech, MBA, and Master’s degrees.

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Goa CM, NRI Commissioner writes to MoEF for help in safe return of Goans from Ukraine

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Panaji: Goa chief minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday urged Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar to help in safe return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

Sawant tweeted “we are concerned about the Goans in Ukraine who are considering to return to India in the light of ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. I request Union Minister for External Affairs @DrSJaishankar ji for help in the safe return of Goans. I am keeping track of the situation.”

The chief minister’s tweet comes hours after Goa’s NRI Commissioner Narendra Sawaikar wrote to the Union External Affairs ministry seeking help in return of Goans who are in the Ukraine.

“Many Goans are currently residing in Ukraine due to various purposes including higher studies and due to the ongoing tension between Russia and Ukraine, I have started receiving requests for help and assistance from them to return back to India,” Sawaikar wrote.

The Commissioner further wrote in the letter that advisories have already been issued by the Ministery of External Affairs to Indians currently in Ukraine and our Indian Mission in Kyiy is currently handling the matter.

“Striking note of urgency, the Government of India has recently asked the family members of Embassy officials in Ukraine as well as students and citizens whose stay is not vital , to leave the Eastern European nation amid it’s raising tensions with Russia,” the letter reads.

Sawaikar wrote that the Goans in Ukraine are in touch with this office as they are anxious to temporarily return till the situation normalizes.

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Election Commission announces polling dates and counting days for Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 states

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On Saturday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced the dates for the Vidhan Sabha elections in 5 States, namely, Goa, Punjab, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

While briefing the media, Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra informed that the elections in the poll-bound States will commence from February 10, 2022, to March 7, 2022. Elections in the State of Uttar Pradesh will be conducted in 7 phases, followed by Manipur with 2 phases. Elections in Goa, Uttarkhand and Punjab will be conducted in a single phase.

According to the Election Commission of India, the votes will be counted on March 10, 2022. ECI informed that all physical campaigning will be ceased until January 15, 2022, in light of the rising cases of Coronavirus.

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