IMF observes remembrance day at Seamens War Memorial

Remembrance Day was observed by the Indian Maritime Foundation at the Seamens War Memorial in Bund Garden,on Sunday with the Wreath-Laying Ceremony in memory of Indian Seamen who manned merchant ships and craft during the First and Second World Wars.

Remembrance Day was observed by the Indian Maritime Foundation (IMF) at the Seamens War Memorial in Bund Garden,on Sunday with the Wreath-Laying Ceremony in memory of Indian Seamen who manned merchant ships and craft during the First and Second World Wars. 7955 of them lost their lives while combating enemies at sea.

The chief guest on the occasion was Abdulgani Serang,General Secretary,National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI),Five wreaths were laid on behalf of NUSI,the PMC,The Indian Navy,the British Merchant Marine and the IMF.

Two Second World War veterans who were present at the ceremony were felicitated,Air Chief Marshal H Moolgavkar,MVC,former Chief of the Air Staff,and Capt T Rosario,whose survived in a lifeboat with his shipmates after his ship was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Indian Ocean in 1944. Both are residents of Pune.

Also present on the occasion were Rajni Tribhuvan,former Mayor of Pune, VAdm V Pasricha,Former FOCINC Western Naval Command Mumbai,Dr BK Saxena Principal of Tolani Maritime Institute,Talegaon and officers from Samundra Institute of Maritime Studies,Lonvala,and senior officers from the NUSI Mumbai.

The new War Memorial,the only one in a public place in India in memory of merchant seamen,was dedicated last year on Gandhi Jayanti by the Mayor Rajalakshmi Bhosale. The cadets and band of the Sea Cadet Corps Pune Unit,were also in attendance.

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