Wheeler Island named after missile man

Wheeler Island which is located approximately 10 kilometres off the Odisha coast on the Bay of Bengal, is one of the country’s most advanced missile testing range. It, therefore, seems apt that the island is renamed after India’s missile man, APJ Abdul Kalam. On the occasion of the second death anniversary of Abdul Kalam, the state government paid a tribute to the former president of India by issuing a gazette notification renaming the outer Wheeler Island in Bhadrak district as APJ Abdul Kalam island. Revenue minister Maheswar Mohanty handed over a copy of the notification to chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday.Speaking at a function held at the state secretariat, Naveen Patnaik said that Dr Kalam had a very long association with Odisha and that is why it was decided to rename the island as APJ Abdul Kalam Island. The Wheeler Island is about 2 kilometres in length and measures around 390 acres. On the request of Kalam, former chief minister Biju Patnaik had allotted the historic Wheeler Island to the Ministry of Defence in 1993. Kalam worked as a missile scientist at the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) at Balasore for a long time. He had a deep connection with the Wheeler Island and had reported it as his 'theatre of action'. CM Naveen Patnaik said that renaming the island as Abdul Kalam Island will inspire youngsters to work dedicatedly for scientific research.