India Ramps Up Heat On Turkey, Mumbai Civic Body Junks Key Tender

Mumbai:

The Mumbai civic body has scrapped a key tender to buy beach safety equipment from a Turkish company as the government continues to ramp up heat on Turkey for siding with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor.

The tender was floated last September to buy six robotic water rescue vehicles to assist lifeguards at various beaches in the coastal city, including Girgaum Chowpatty, Dadar Shivaji Park, Juhu, Versova, Aksa, and Gorai.

The vendor that had won the tender would have sourced the devices from Maren Robotics, a Turkish company.

The civic body is now looking for Indian alternatives. An officer at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said, "BMC is exploring the possibility of having the products manufactured by India-based firms, which would be cost-effective and be a better solution considering the geopolitical sensitivities."

Turkey's support to Pakistan came under focus during Operation Sindoor, under which India struck at least nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in response to the ghastly terror attack in Pahalgam. Turkey not only supported Pakistan ideologically, but also armed it with weapons that were used in the three-day conflict.

In a strong message a week later, New Delhi reminded Ankara that relations are built on the basis of sensitivities to each other's concerns and that they must encourage Islamabad to address the problem of terrorism.

Turkey's stand during the India-Pakistan conflict had also lowered their credibility among the Indian community, with calls of boycotting Turkish products echoing through the political and corporate corridors of the country.

The government had last month revoked the security clearance of Celebi, a Turkish firm that provided ground services at nine airports in the country, citing security reasons.

Weeks later, the civil aviation ministry gave a three-month deadline to budget carrier IndiGo to end its aircraft leasing agreement with Turkish Airlines, refusing to extend a permit for the agreement after May 31.

Online shopping platforms like Myntra and Ajio, too, removed popular Turkish brands from their platforms.

The pressure heightened as smaller traders jumped on the bandwagon to boycott Turkish goods. In Delhi's Azadpur mandi, the largest wholesale market in Asia for fruits and vegetables, traders decided last month to stop importing apples from Turkey.

Several top Indian universities, including the IITs, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and Jamia Millia Islamia, had also suspended their Turkish exchange programs.