Reunion Island : Indian Navy’s first training squadron Arrived
Ships of the Indian Navy’s first training squadron (1TS), INS Tir and ICGS Sarathi, arrived at Réunion Island, while INS Shardul reached Port Louis, Mauritius, recently, as part of their long-range training deployment in the southwest Indian Ocean Region.
- Reunion Island is a French island in the Western Indian Ocean.
- It lies about 680 km east of Madagascar and 180 km southwest of Mauritius.
- It covers an area of 2,511 sq. km.
- It is almost elliptical in shape, about 40 miles (65 km) long and 30 miles (50 km) wide.
- With Mauritius and Rodrigues Islands, they form the Mascarene Archipelago.
- Of volcanic origin, Réunion consists mostly of rugged mountains in an advanced state of dissection by short torrential rivers.
- It is home to the highest peak in the Indian Ocean, the Piton des Neiges, and one of the most active volcanoes on the planet, the Piton de la Fournaise.
- The capital is Saint-Denis, on the northern coast.
- Réunion’s coast has no good natural harbours.
- Réunion was first settled in the 17th century by colonists from France.
- Slave labourers were brought in from East Africa to work on plantations, and later Malays, Annamites, Chinese, and Malabar Indians were imported as indentured labourers.
