Palwal village rejoices at Lanba’s selection as Navy Chief

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Palwal, May 7

The appointment of Vice Admiral Sunil Lanba as the new Navy Chief has brought cheers to residents of the district’s Amarpur village.

Sunil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of Western Naval Command, will assume charge on May 31. He will take over from Admiral RK Dhowan. He was born in Amarpur on July 17, 1957.

“The village is proud of Sunil Lanba. It is the rarest of rare achievement for a person born in Amarpur,” said advocate Rajiv Lamba, a native of the village.

He said Sunil Lanba was in touch with his village. “He and his family keep visiting Amarpur. The family owns land in the village.”

Sunil Lanba’s uncle, Dharamvir Lanba, uncle and cousin, Arun, who live in the village said Sunil’s appointment as the Navy Chief brought the village in the limelight. The Lanba family has around 40 acres in the village located on the banks of the Yamuna river, said Rajender a local patwari.

Sunil (58), a specialist in navigation and direction, will have full three-year tenure as the Navy Chief. An alumnus of Defence Services Staff College, he will be the 21st Indian to be the Navy Chief.

He served as Navigating Officer of INS Sindhudurg (Corvette) and INS Dunagiri (Frigate). During his illustrious service, he commanded four frontline warships — INS Kakinada (Minesweeper), INS Himgiri (Frigate), INS Ranvijay and INS Mumbai (Destroyers).