2 October 1923
Word is only now reaching the outside world of a devastating cyclone that struck deep into the state of Bangaldesh last week. The storm made land-fall on the twenty-nineth of September, after inflicting severe damage on the local fishing fleet and sinking several larger ships.
Telephone and telegraph lines to the region around Chittagong have been destroyed, and extensive flooding has prevented foot messengers from reaching less damaged areas of the state to pass along the news.
A high storm-surge and heavy rains have left hundreds of square miles inundated with murky, debris-covered water. Military aircraft are now over-flying the region to estimate the true extent of the devastation; one aviator told AWNR, "I've never seen anything like it...so many bodies...", before choking up.
The Government is mobilizing thousands of relief workers as well as three divisions of infantry to start rescuing displaced families and bury the dead. Warships of the Eastern Maritime District are now in the waters off Chittagong, searching for survivors of the many vessels lost in the storm.
The Government has not provided an estimate of the death toll, but one source said, "It will be substantial."
18 October 1923
Disaster relief operations continue in the Chittagong region of Bangladesh, where an estimated 23,000 people lost their lives in a cyclone three weeks ago.
Despite the presence of large numbers of military and civilian relief workers, there has been sharp criticism of their effectiveness in restoring crucial infrastructure, burying the dead, and tending to the sick and injured.
A spokesman for the upstart Concerned Citizens' Coalition - founded after the cyclone that hit Dhaka last year - said, "The horror of this tragedy is compounded by the fact that nobody in government seems to have learned from what happened in Dhaka. They're sending the wrong supplies, have their priorities all wrong, and the various organizations aren't coordinating their activities well at all. We also have evidence of at least three government officials engaged in ethically questionable activities since they arrived here."
There are sketchy reports of a riot in a refugee camp north of the city, but the state governor's office would only say that there had been a minor disturbance resulting in three arrests.
20 October 1923
The aviation ship Otta , collier Indrayati , and destroyer G-125 are embarking on a "milk run" that will see them ultimately arrive in Belgium next month.
"Otta is scheduled to deliver a number of cargoes of various kinds", said her captain. "We will be transporting a dozen Dhairya-C scout-bombers to the army aviation base at As Salif, as well as several armored cars, plus the personnel required to operate them. We then proceed into the Mediterranean for a brief visit to Greece, and on to Cadiz, Iberia, to deliever the Naval College football team for a tournament."
After that, the squadron will continue on to Belgium, to rotate the "Chosen", the military security team assigned to the embassy there.
1 November 1923
The Meteorological Service of India is planning another Antarctic mission this winter. This time, the mission will attempt to land on a region dubbed "Enderby Land" to take weather observations for up to three months.
"Ultimately, our goal is to spend a whole year taking observations, so we can see if any conditions here can warn us of storms like 1923-K before they reach our shores", said director Kamal Pashira.
5 November 1923
The army has been called in to break up riots and "illegal activities" around Chittagong. As many as thirty people may have been killed in the process.
Several members of the Concerned Citizen's Coalition have been arrested after allegedly using force to take over distribution of food supplies to the eastern part of the city. A coalition member, who did not wish to be named, said, "There's been far too much attention paid to the plight of the wealthy, and not nearly enough to the poor. The only way left to us was to physically prevent it from happening."
1 December 1923
The Navy has tabled its estimates for 1924. While only a handful of ships will be built, the types of ships mark a departure for the fleet.
Admiral Sanjay Das said, "Nineteen twenty-four will be a milestone year for India as we take further steps toward an all-purpose navy. The battleship Akbar will be laid down on the first day of the year, with a second battleship, Jahangir , to follow in July. By 1927, these fine vessels will be the nucleus of our battleline, freeing up the Dara Shikoh and Babur for other duties.
"Further, we also begin the expansion of the fleet submarine arm, with the construction of three coastal submarines for operations in the Bay of Bengal. We have learned a great deal from two years of trials with our South African-built IX-1 , and anticipate developing a large arm of coastal and ocean-going submarines before the end of the decade.
"We will continue to upgrade our support forces. The final unit of the Brahmaputra class coastal minesweepers will be built, after which we will initiate work on a group of larger, ocean-going minesweepers. We have identified and purchased two oilers which will be converted to military use to support fleet operations.
"Regarding infrastructure, we will complete the class three slipway at Mumbai, and will embark on construction of a similarly sized drydock at Madras."
4 December 1923
The Government of India has invited delegates of a number of navies to attend the lay-down ceremony for the battleship Akbar .
"It's a very important event for us, as we join that small, elite club of nations willing and able to build capital ships. We've sent invitations to all signatories of the Cleito Treaty, plus Denmark, the Philippines, Siam, and several South American states. I don't know that they will all attend, but I imagine there are some folks curious to see what we're going to build. Our operational security has been fairly good so far, after all", said Admiral Das.
The ceremony will take place in Madras on January 1, and will feature an unveiling of the design, plus key-note addresses by the Raj, Admiral Das, and Dhiren Naidu, the country's leading naval architect. A formal dinner will take place aboard SR Babur following the ceremony.
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Quoted
I'm assuming "delegates" means naval architechs and embasadors?
Wednesday, April 24th 2024, 7:51pm
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