Odisha asked to set up port away from defence test range
November 16th, 2011 - 8:33 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Even as the defence ministry and Odisha government are sparring over artillery tests at Balasore coming in the way of a port in Bhadrak district, India’s defence research agency Wednesday said discussions were in progress to get the state to push the port further south from the test range.
“A dialogue is going on with the state government to push their port further down south from the test range,” Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief V.K. Saraswat told reporters here.
Saraswat said DRDO “does not want to come in the way of the state’s growth”.
“A discussion is on to see whether both the port and the test range can co-exist. Pushing the port down south is one option being discussed,” he added.
The issue is raging in the eastern coastal state after the government there objected to DRDO’s Proof and Experimental Establishment (PXE) holding tests of artillery systems frequently and the test range for these weapons extending up to the spot where Odisha has planned a port project.
The state’s development or nation’s security interest was the question that the defence ministry and Odisha government are trying answer in their discussions.
Saraswat said the test range was only one of its kind in the world and unique in the sense the sea recedes four-five km from the Odisha coast here providing an advantage to test artillery systems on a 400-sqkm open land where the weapons could be fired and later recovered for post-test study.
The test site in Balasore is on an area close to four times that of Chandigarh, which spread over 114 sq km.
The defence test facility came up in Balasore in 1825, during British rule.
“This an unique location in the world for weapons testing activity,” Saraswat said.
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Tags: artillery systems, balasore, bhadrak, chandigarh, coastal state, defence ministry, defence research agency, development organisation, dialogue, drdo, New Delhi, post test, research and development, saraswat, security interest, state government, test facility, test range, test site, test study