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USS Nimitz Departs From Indian Waters; Heads For Gulf

2007-07-05 he nuclear-powered USS Nimitz, whose arrival in Indian waters had been strongly opposed by the Left and other opposition political parties and environmentalists, left Indian waters at around 10.00 a.m.

The USS Nimitz, which anchored off Chennai port on Monday, left along with the USS Pinckney, which was also anchored off port.

The ships are headed back to the Gulf.

The US aircraft carrier's arrival marks a landmark event in the growing defence ties between Washington and New Delhi, but the Left opposed the vessel's visit, expressing fears that New Delhi was getting sucked in by the US.

The protest was also joined by the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK), a voluntary organization of Tamil Nadu Muslims.

Under Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's Government, Washington and New Delhi have seen a blossoming of military, economic and diplomatic ties, triggering unease among the powerful Communists who help shore up the more than three-year-old Central coalition.

Defence Minister A K Antony had said the visit of the warship to India was part of efforts to expand bilateral defence cooperation.

Some port workers had expressed fears about the impact on the environment due to the visit of a nuclear-powered ship.

But US Ambassador to India, David Mulford, dismissed such fears, saying everything had been sorted out with New Delhi.

"There is nothing to worry about, and all has been discussed with the government. I do not know what their particular concern is, but it seems to be it would be nice if they could welcome the ship," Mulford said.

Earlier, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, ruled out fear of radiation from the USS Nimitz.

Meanwhile, sailors of Nimitz visited the Indian Council for Child Welfare during their five-day port call in Chennai.

David Grimes, a sailor, said that he really enjoyed helping somebody and doing some physical work and seeing the smiles on people's faces.

According to some Indian commentators, the port call by the USS Nimitz was also an attempt to heal past scars.

They said it brought back memories of 1971 when Washington sent another aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, to the Bay of Bengal to intimidate India as it fought Pakistan in a war that eventually led to the creation of Bangladesh.

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